Levy cancels his speech at Salem graduation

Levy, 59, had been set to speak at the afternoon undergraduate ceremony on Saturday, but sometime within the past two weeks he notified the college that he would not appear.

“He very politely declined the invitation,’’ said Karen Cady, a school spokeswoman. “We’re very fortunate that there’s a lot of interesting people out there.’’

In his stead, Lynn Nicholas, president and chief executive of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, will address graduates.

Levy has come under fire in recent weeks over a personal relationship with a former employee. The woman was hired by Levy in 2002 and worked for the Harvard teaching hospital until last year. Levy was fined $50,000 by the hospital for “poor judgment.’’

“I am hoping people can look past this personal infraction,’’ he said in a recent Globe interview.

The attorney general’s office will examine whether charitable funds were misspent and whether the hospital board properly handled the situation.

At the graduation, Nicholas will receive an honorary degree.

This year, Salem State split its undergraduate commencement into two parts. Graduates from its School of Arts and Sciences will attend a 10 a.m. commencement and hear remarks from former governor Michael Dukakis. The graduation for the human services and business programs will be at 3 p.m.

“Someone like Lynn Nicholas kind of covers both. She’s in the health care industry and has her knowledge of business,’’ Cady said.

John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.