A former Macalester College chemistry professor has been charged by summons after a student said she found urine on her backpack and belongings in a campus science building, causing $2,070 in damage. Paul Jerome Fischer, 55, of St. Paul, taught chemistry at the college for 25 years before resigning amid the investigation, and he is due to make his first court appearance next month.
According to Pioneer Press, the student was studying in a common area of the Olin-Rice Science Center outside Fischer's office on Dec. 5, 2025, when she left her table for about six minutes. When she returned, she found urine on her backpack and reported that she believed Fischer had urinated on it because he was the only person nearby. The outlet reports Fischer was charged with felony criminal damage to property, though he did not have an attorney listed in the court file as of Thursday afternoon, Oct. 8, 2026, and could not be reached for comment.
Fischer gave police a different account. He told investigators he believed a cup of urine had accidentally spilled onto the student's belongings, and he said he had developed a habit of urinating in a cup for the previous year and a half to two years, per the same account. He reportedly told police he was emptying a container of urine into a trash can near his office on Dec. 5 and said he disposed of urine in trash cans or lab sinks around campus.
Itemized Damage and a Monthslong Investigation
The student provided an itemized receipt showing the damaged backpack items totaled $2,070, the report states. St. Paul police received her report in early February, months after the alleged incident, and the case followed a Macalester College Department of Public Safety investigation into urination incidents on campus, according to the criminal complaint cited in the report.
An earlier account from The Mac Weekly described the matter differently, classifying the incident as fourth-degree intentional damage to property and noting that no arrest had been made at the time of its publication. That outlet also reported that Fischer was no longer a Macalester employee and was not authorized to be anywhere on campus, according to a Feb. 19 email sent to students by chemistry professor Keith Kuwata. Macalester Director of Media Relations Babs Santos told the student paper at the time that the college does not comment on personnel matters.
Additional Incidents Alleged in Complaint
The criminal complaint, as described by Pioneer Press, also alleged additional urination incidents involving trash cans, individuals' water bottles and other professors' decorations around campus, with six reports of urination tied to the Olin-Rice Science Center between Nov. 11 and Dec. 5, 2025. Fischer was identified as the individual connected to those incidents, according to the complaint. Macalester ended Fischer's employment during the 2025–26 academic year, and he resigned pending the investigation, per the criminal complaint.
The case has drawn attention on social media, where one post on Reddit's r/macalester forum claimed, “He peed in the water bottles of a number of different people, all women or fem.” That claim has not been independently verified and reflects only a social media account of the situation.
Potential Penalties Under Minnesota Law
Under Minnesota Statutes section 609.595, a person who intentionally damages another person's physical property without consent can face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, depending on the circumstances outlined in the statute. Babs Santos said Macalester College is aware of the criminal charge against Fischer, though the college has otherwise declined to comment further on the personnel matter. Fischer's first court appearance is expected next month.
