Facing new revelations that he is at the center of a criminal investigation, Robert Felner, the recently appointed chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Parkside, withdrew from his new job today.

Mr. Felner, dean of the University of Louisville’s College of Education and Human Development, was scheduled to become Parkside’s chancellor in August. But federal authorities confirmed last Friday that they were investigating an unspecified potential violation at the college he leads in Kentucky. Mr. Felner called Kevin P. Reilly, the Wisconsin system’s president, over the weekend to inform him of the investigation. Mr. Reilly accepted Mr. Felner’s resignation today.

The criminal investigation involves an allegation that Mr. Felner’s college mishandled federal grants of $500,000, Scott C. Cox, a lawyer for Mr. Felner, told The Courier-Journal, a newspaper in Louisville.

“We believe from our very preliminary investigation that he has not mishandled any funds,” Mr. Cox said of Mr. Felner. He added that his client had resigned from the chancellorship because he was “concerned that this is going to create a problem, even if it’s just a perception problem, at the University of Wisconsin.” —Paul Fain