UI Faculty and Students Rally Against Leadership Amid Harassment Lawsuit
ST. GEORGE, Utah — In light of a harassment and discrimination lawsuit involving Utah Tech University’s former president, Richard “Biff” Williams, faculty and students have expressed significant dissatisfaction with current leadership. A vote of no confidence in interim president Courtney White and five other administrators received overwhelming support, with the Faculty Senate approving it 23-4, and a subsequent poll showing about 77% of faculty backed the resolution.
“We don’t have any confidence in the people running this university,” stated Angel Wood, social media editor for Utah Tech’s student newspaper. She emphasized the unsettling atmosphere on campus, which felt eerily quiet ahead of finals and a major football game. Wood reported a sense of discomfort among students who know the implicated leaders, describing their public demeanor as misleading given the gravity of the allegations.
The lawsuit accuses Williams, who resigned last year and is now president at Missouri State University, of using vulgar sexual innuendos in pranks and shifting blame onto uninvolved university attorneys and the Title IX coordinator. Recent reports revealed that Williams received over $280,000 from Utah Tech as part of his resignation agreement, a practice the Utah Board of Higher Education has now prohibited.
In a bold front-page editorial, the Utah Tech Sun News Daily staff called for a complete leadership overhaul, highlighting the need for candidates free from the ongoing legal turmoil. “We truthfully don’t want to see anybody being the president over this university that’s been involved in all of these allegations and lawsuits,” Wood remarked, underscoring the urgency for change at Utah Tech. As tensions rise, the university community is left grappling with its leadership crisis.
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