MADISON (WKOW) -- A prominent retirement community dismissed its CEO this week following an organized protest by its residents.
Oakwood Village sent residents a letter Tuesday informing them the board has ended the employment of CEO Reginald Hislop, III. Hislop's dismissal followed a push by a group of concerned retirees, who said they were troubled by the CEO's financial decisions, then uncovered he lied about his credentials.
"We basically have two problems," Stan Payne, who chairs the group, Concerned Citizens of Oakwood Village, said in an interview. "One problem is simply Hislop, himself, who is an incompetent and fraudulent CEO, but the other is the effects of his destructive business decisions."
Leaders of the retiree group held a meeting Wednesday in the Madison campus' auditorium. They told residents about Hislop's background and their concerns about some of his decisions.
27 News was present for about 30 minutes of the meeting before an Oakwood official asked a reporter to leave. He said some of the seniors were uncomfortable with the presence of a camera.
In a statement Wednesday, Oakwood Village confirmed Hislop was no longer employed there.
"We have no comment on any specific personnel matters," read the statement attributed to Board Chair Calvin Williams. "Oakwood’s Board of Directors is aware of the concerns expressed by a small number of residents regarding the management of the organization."
"The Board of Directors, along with Oakwood’s Executive Leadership Team, are focused on the long-term stability and security of Oakwood Village."
The community's Summer 2020 newsletter included a feature on Hislop, in which he claimed to have a Master's degree from Marquette University and a PhD from the University of Toronto.
A spokesperson from the University of Toronto told 27 News in an email it had no record of a Reginald Hislop receiving a PhD from the university.
A Marquette spokesperson said the university could confirm Hislop received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1982, but had no record of him receiving a Master's degree.
27 News was unsuccessful in its efforts to reach Hislop, who also deleted his Twitter account earlier this month.
Payne said the group was also worried about whether the Oakwood board was providing enough oversight of Hislop's business decisions. He pointed to the ongoing construction of a new nursing home, estimated to cost $40 million.
Both Payne, and retiree Bob Pricer, who presented information at Wednesday's meeting, said they were worried resident fees wouldn't be enough to cover the cost of expansion.
"It's important to get new leadership, new management, that can deal with these issues," Payne said. "And right the ship before it sinks."
Nino Amato, who previously served as president of the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging & Health Groups, joined the residents as an advocate. Amato said he was troubled by what he considered to be lack of responsiveness to the group's concerns.
"It's almost a form of institutional elder abuse," Amato said. "Both in the behavior of the CEO, and the lack of response we've gotten from the board of directors."
Payne and Amato said the board failed to act following a November meeting. Payne said the group decided to go public, distributing a letter to all residents and contacting local media, because they felt it was the only way to force the board to act.
"We certainly did not relish the fact that we would have to dismantle Mr. Hislop's reputation," Payne said. "And we've made no charges against anyone else. We have used very polite language."
More at WKOW 27 News