FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The former chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College-Northeast will reimburse the college more than $5,000 that he spent without school approval to fix up part of a vacant campus building where he lived for nearly six months.

Mark Keen resigned from his post June 12, several weeks after Ivy Tech officials learned that he was living in Bliss Hall. Keen said he resigned to spend more time with his ailing father after the death of his mother.

He said in an e-mailed statement to The Journal Gazette that he began living on campus after his wife sought a protective order against him and filed for divorce Dec. 3.

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Keen, who was named chancellor in 2005 and has worked at Ivy Tech for more than 25 years, said in his statement that he insisted on paying the college back for his personal expenses.

Ivy Tech is now charging him $5,734 for the cost of fixing up part of Bliss Hall and for the time he spent living there. School spokesman Jeff Fanter said Keen violated Ivy Tech policy by using college resources without prior approval.

Fanter said Ivy Tech officials did not ask Keen to resign and maintain that he stepped down for personal reasons. State Ivy Tech officials became aware that Keen was living in Bliss Hall in late May and met with him to discuss the situation June 1, Fanter said.

He would not discuss that meeting, saying it was a private personnel matter.

Fanter said Keen has until Wednesday to make a payment on what he owes the school. He also said there was no criminal investigation into the matter.

While Keen was living in Bliss Hall, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne police responded to the building twice on June 1, according to their logs. But IPFW officials would not release the reports that coincide with the visit.

Fanter said police stopped at the building while Keen was meeting with Ivy Tech officials “to check on whose cars were there.”

Keen must reimburse Ivy Tech for rent at $500 a month for 5 1/2 months, plus additional money for a water heater; new locks for the doors; miscellaneous labor, including work on bathroom fixtures and clearing of space, according to an itemized list provided by Ivy Tech.

Keen will remain at the school as a consultant until Oct. 31 at his full salary of $128,800. He also will be paid for his unused sick and vacation time, along with a $10,000 performance bonus, among other perks.