Update: this version adds information about the chancellor's job search.

University of North Carolina Wilmington chancellor Gary Miller is not seeking a job outside the university because of a dustup over suspension of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity’s chapter on campus, a North Carolina legislator said Thursday.

Rep. John Bell, R-Wayne, said he was “disappointed that an organization I take pride in” was being blamed for Miller’s decision to explore leadership positions at other institutions. Recent media reports have suggested that Miller’s disagreement with Gov. Pat McCrory and other officials over the university’s suspension of the fraternity following a hazing incident was the cause.

Bell, himself an alumnus of UNCW and member of SAE, introduced a bill in the N.C.  House last spring, called the Students & Administration Equality Act, which would allow college students accused of code violations to have legal representation in university hearings. The provisions of the act were eventually incorporated into the General Assembly’s regulatory reform legislation passed during last year’s long session.

“The SAE situation is not the reason the chancellor is looking for other opportunities,” Bell said. “Some folks are blaming the fraternity, but it’s not the fraternity’s fault. Some other reasons are more relevant.”

Miller is currently one of five finalists for the top job at SUNY Buffalo State, where he interviewed in late April, and at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, which he visits Friday as part of that university’s interview process with its five finalist candidates. Miller had been one of three finalists for president of Youngstown State University in Ohio, but former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, currently an administrator at Akron State University, was given the nod for that job.