Former Utah Tech University President Richard “Biff” Williams will keep his new job in Missouri, which he stepped into about six months after he resigned here while under investigation for misconduct.
The governing board at Missouri State University voted unanimously Friday during a closed session to support Williams and continue to have him lead the school despite the allegations that have drawn widespread attention.
The decision comes, too, after the Faculty Senate at Missouri State took a vote of no-confidence in Williams’ leadership the day before. The school’s Board of Governors said in a statement released to The Salt Lake Tribune that it considered that faculty resolution before deciding to stand by Williams.
“This decision was made after thoughtful consideration of the viewpoints heard from all constituencies,” the board said. “Missouri State University has very high expectations for our leaders personally and professionally, and President Williams is working with the board on actions that he will take as part of his commitment to strengthening relationships across our campus community.”
The school did not provide details on what those actions from Williams will include.
Williams has already apologized to the Missouri State community for the attention the allegations from Utah have brought there. But he has not apologized to the Utah Tech campus.
The Faculty Senate at Utah Tech also passed a no-confidence resolution Thursday, noting that omission and saying that members are concerned with how school leaders responded to the accusations against Williams.
Those first came to light in a lawsuit filed earlier this month. Three employees — Utah Tech attorneys Becky Broadbent and Jared Rasband, as well as Title IX Director Hazel Sainsbury — said in their filing that the university has a toxic culture that stems from the top and was often encouraged by Williams. Their efforts to address it, they say, were ignored or mocked.
It culminated in November 2023 when Williams gave what he’s since acknowledged he meant as a gag gift to a member of his Cabinet after the man had surgery. It was vegetables made to look like male genitalia, alongside a note wishing the man a speedy recovery.
Only Williams didn’t sign the note from himself. Instead, he used the names of Broadbent, Rasband and Sainsbury. When they tried to report that, their lawsuit says, they faced further retaliation and harassment.
Meanwhile, Williams quietly stepped down two months after they reported, saying he planned “to pursue other professional opportunities” after a decade at the helm of Utah Tech. He continued to receive pay from the school for six months until he started in Missouri. He was inaugurated there last month.
Williams told students, according to reporting by the Springfield Daily Citizen, after the lawsuit came out that the board at Missouri did not know about the allegations prior to hiring them because the Title IX process is private.
However, Williams says he personally told the board chair shortly after he was selected as the next president there. He has also denied some of the allegations included in the lawsuit.