The No. 2 official at the University of Wisconsin-Madison moved up his retirement after he decided to pull out of an agreement that would have kept him on paid leave through the end of the upcoming school year.
Provost Peter Spear originally announced in April he would step down after the fall semester. At the time, the school did not disclose a plan that would allow Spear to collect his $227,000 salary for five months of paid leave after he left campus.