Board of RegentsToday, a bipartisan majority of the CU Board of Regents took the step of censuring one of our own members, Regent Wanda James, for violations of Regent policy. It was a difficult decision and one that none of us took lightly or without careful consideration. The resolution outlining the reasons for this decision, approved by seven of the board’s nine members, explains that a majority of the board agreed that Regent James had violated her duties to the University in her actions and statements concerning removal of funding for the University.
Timeline of events
- In February, the Board became aware of concerns that Regent James was advocating publicly for funding to be cut from the Colorado School of Public Health, related to their public health campaign “the Tea on THC.”
- In March, the Chair and Vice Chair asked University Counsel’s Office to review the concerns. Later that month, University Counsel retained external lawyers to conduct an independent review and report to the Board what they found.
- In early June, the Board received a privileged memorandum outlining the results of Independent Counsel’s preliminary review and their evaluations concerning regent policy and law violations.
- On June 13, the Board voted to invoke Regent Policy 2M and to proceed with a formal investigation under Policy 2M, which governs censure proceedings. The Board also voted to designate Independent Counsel to conduct the investigation. Policy 2M states “in order for the Board to censure a regent, the Board of Regents must find by a preponderance of the evidence that the regent violated a specific statute, board law, or board policy.”
- On June 13, Regent James was sent formal notice of the allegations of misconduct as well as evidence collected. She was provided an opportunity to review the evidence and respond, which she did on June 23. Regents scheduled a public meeting for July 2 to consider whether she violated laws or Regent policies and if so, whether she should be censured.