The University of Colorado spent nearly half a million dollars looking into two of its regents that led to one censure and one exoneration.
CU Regent Wanda James was censured on July 2 after an investigation conducted by two law firms, one in Denver, the other in Colorado Springs.
Meanwhile, chair of regents Callie Rennison was also investigated by the same firms, based on accusations that she received full-time work for part-time pay. She was exonerated earlier this year.
James was accused of having a conflict of interest when she described as racist images of dark-skinned males that accompanied a campaign that educated people on the harms of high-THC marijuana. Regents felt this constituted a conflict of interest because James also owns a cannabis dispensary.
“The current cost of reviews for both Regent Rennison and Regent James, both conducted by the same independent counsel, is $462,900.37,” according to University of Colorado Vice President for Communication Michele Ames. “This is the total through June,” she said in an email, adding later during a phone call that additional legal fees could come in for the month of July as well.
Investigations into the two regents occurred at the same time, with, for example, a lawyer asking a question of another regent about both James and Rennison in the same meeting, making it impossible to determine how much money went toward one investigation as compared to the other.
The Regents posted the James censure on the board’s website earlier this month. It reads that James can still attend meetings and vote, but she would be removed “from all regent committee assignments, including regent committee leadership positions, and to preclude any such future assignments.”
In addition, it states that the board would “rescind any invitations previously extended to Regent James to any internal or external university events that regents attend in their official representational capacity, and to preclude any such future invitations.”
The law firms used in the investigations were Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow & Farbes in Denver, and First & Fourteenth PLLC, based in Colorado Springs, according to Ames.
- CU Board of Regents votes to censure Wanda James
- CU Regents vote to continue with potential censure of Wanda James
- University of Colorado Board of Regent chair under independent review, accused of receiving full-time pay only working part-time
- CU Regents request independent review of board member who owns marijuana dispensary
- CU regent receives community support while facing potential censure, backlash for stance on anti-marijuana campaign
