An administrator facing domestic violence charges gets a new job at CSUMB.

Last November, veteran college administrator Ronnie Higgs was placed on administrative leave from his job as vice president of student affairs and enrollment services at CSU Monterey Bay, following his arrest in October on allegations that he assaulted his wife and tried to force her out of a Carmel bar, where she was out with friends, and into his vehicle.

At the time, the university issued a statement that Higgs was placed on leave “pending a review of the facts and circumstances involved in this private marital matter.

“We are concerned about the scope of the charges facing Dr. Higgs and we want to ensure our community that we take these matters seriously,” the statement read.

The criminal case, in which Higgs is facing a single count of corporal injury to a spouse, is still making its way through Monterey County Superior Court. It’s unclear if that university review of the facts and circumstances took place and, if so, what conclusions were reached.

But Higgs is back at CSUMB, working as a special adviser to President Eduardo Ochoa, with a pay rate of $19,368 a month and an eye on retiring at the end of the summer. According to the university, the pay rate is unchanged from last year; in 2019, according to Transparent California, which tracks public sector salaries, Higgs earned $18,203 per month.

In a statement, CSUMB spokesperson Walter Ryce writes that “as the legal matter has continued to be unresolved for a longer time period than anticipated, Dr. Higgs was reassigned to be a senior adviser to the president until his retirement.”

Higgs’ attorney, William Pernik, did not respond to a request for comment. According to court records, Higgs’ wife, who initially had a protective order keeping her husband away from her, petitioned the court in December to have that order terminated and Judge Carrie Panetta granted the request.