MADISON, Wis. -- University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly is promising a review of all 40 felons on the universities' payroll as of last November.

The Legislative Audit Bureau on Tuesday released a report that was requested by Republican lawmakers that detailed the felons who worked at the university and its campuses. Four of the felons were on the academic staff as of this fall.

There were 54 felonies committed by the 40 employees, nine of which were considered violent. The system has 41,000 employees, WISC-TV reported.

The bureau reviewed the UW System's hiring practices after concerns were raised about three professors who kept their jobs despite felony convictions. One of the professors was fired earlier this year.

The report said that two of the felons committed homicides in the 1970s, but they have been on parole since the early 1990s.

Reilly said on Tuesday that 12 of the employees no longer work for the system and 25 committed the crimes before they were hired.

The audit found 27 of the 40 felons work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Four employees were convicted of a total of five sexual assaults of a child.

State law prohibits job discrimination based on an employee's arrest or conviction record unless the crimes are substantially related to the person's job.

Reilly said that his review will determine whether the crimes were related to their employment.

The audit found that UW schools were unaware of most of the felons working for them, and policies on conducting background checks varied greatly among the system's 13 four-year campuses and 13 two-year institutions.

Administrators said that initial examinations show none of those still on campus pose any danger to students or other staff, WISC-TV reported.

"There's no question about that," said UW official Darrel Bazzell. "We've taken a preliminary look at the individuals identified through the audit, and we feel very confident that we have a very safe and secure and welcoming environment, and people should feel free to walk around and engage in ways that are appropriate, and without fear of their safety."

State Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, who is on the Joint Legislative Audit Committee that requested the probe, said that the report should ease some concerns about the system's hiring practices.

"I think when you look at this as 40 -- of which 13 are no longer there -- 27 in total being far less than one-tenth of 1 percent is very good news," Roessler said. "We don't have individuals lurking there that are not familiar with and would be cause for concern."

Related Link:

• "Employment of Felons By UW System" Report (PDF Format)