• What is censure?

The CU Board of Regents is a self-governing body. As such, concerns regarding conduct of any Regent when their actions have potentially violated the policies and laws that govern their conduct fall to the board for resolution. Each Regent holds important fiduciary and legal obligations to the University that are enforced by the board. 

• How does the censure process work?

To censure any member of the body, a majority of the Regents must vote to invoke their policy 2M, which governs the process. Following a fact finding, the board must then allow the Regent in question to respond to the issues. Censure requires a majority vote of the board in a public hearing. Only elected members of the board can vote. No other university leadership – including the University President – is eligible to vote on a Regents matter. 

• What was the action recently taken by the CU Board of Regents?

Leadership of the CU Board of Regents requested review of two separate issues. The first involved the actions of Regent Wanda James related to her public statements about pulling state funding from the Colorado School of Public Health. The second involved the conduct of Regent Callie Rennison on matters related to her status as a university employee and conduct in her role as a member of the faculty. The matter involving Regent James resulted in her censure as well as sanctions being approved by a bipartisan majority of the board. You can read the independent counsel report, an additional letter from the independent counsel regarding a response from the Polis administration, as well as the Regent’s resolutions on censure and sanctions. The matter involving Regent Rennison was reviewed and a bipartisan majority of the board voted that the matter required no additional action. You can read the independent counsel report as well as the Regents resolution related to this review.

• How was the independent counsel selected to conduct both reviews?

At the request of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Regents, University counsel began the process of consulting with community leaders and the Attorney General’s Office to identify an independent legal team to review both matters. Several firms were contacted. University counsel elected to go with the Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow & Farbes law firm. When University counsel contacted Stan Garnett and David Powell from that firm, they suggested teaming up with attorneys at First & Fourteenth with whom they had recently worked on another matter. 

• How much did the review of Regent conduct cost?

In order to conduct a full and fair review of both issues of Regent conduct raised, University counsel was directed by the leadership of the Board of Regents to retain outside counsel. The total cost of those two reviews combined is $462,900.37 as of June 2025. 

• What is the public health campaign in question?

The public health campaign, authorized by the Colorado General Assembly through legislation, The Tea on THC, is intended to provide information on what current research shows about the impact of high potency cannabis on children’s developing brains and pregnant women. Regent James raised concerns to President Todd Saliman that certain imagery used in the campaign was racially insensitive. University leadership, led by President Saliman and CU Anschutz Medical Campus Chancellor Don Elliman, stated their appreciation for her raising those concerns and agreed. The imagery was removed within about 24 hours. In addition, President Saliman, other university leaders and the marketing firm that developed the campaign issued public apologies. 

• Why did a majority of the Regents vote to censure Regent James?

This issue considered by the board was whether or not the actions Regent James took following the revisions to the public health campaign violated Regent law or policy. Specifically, Regents supporting the censure noted that Regent James made public statements reported by the press in multiple places that indicated she was actively working to pull funding from the Colorado School of Public Health and potentially have it moved to  grants for marijuana business owners who qualify for social equity licenses. It is this action that the investigative review found were a violation of her fiduciary duty to the university and formed the basis for her censure by a bipartisan majority of the board. 

• Is Regent James banned from attending university events? Is Congressional District 1 lacking representation on the Board of Regents due to the censure or sanctions?

No. Regent James retains her right to attend and vote at all board meetings and retreats and to be reimbursed for the associated expenses necessary for her attendance. She may also attend graduations in her official capacity along with all of the other regents. Regent James can attend any other internal or external university event as the regent representing CD1, however she must do so at her own expense and is expected to refrain from representing that she is attending on behalf of the Board of Regents.