A top Missouri official said late Wednesday that the university was not aware of a vulgar incident involving the new president prior to his appointment.
Suzanne Shaw, vice president of marketing and communications, told the News-Leader that the incident involving Richard “Biff” Williams — which is at the center of a federal lawsuit filed Nov. 7 — was not disclosed during the hiring process.
The News-Leader asked Saturday whether MSU’s Board of Governors was aware of the incident, as well as allegations of a toxic work environment at Williams’ last job, before he was offered the Springfield position.
Dr. Richard “Biff” Williams became the 12th president of Missouri State University in July.
“The board was not aware of the situation when they offered the position to President Williams,” Shaw wrote in an email late Wednesday.
“In mid-June, he informed the chairman of the board that there was a problem. The board only recently became aware of the extent of the circumstances,” Shaw wrote. The chairman of the board is Lynn Parman.
Shaw’s email came five hours after the MSU Board of Governors met in a special closed session. The news leader was present in the open portion of the Zoom meeting, which included board members, Williams, Shaw, executive vice president Zora Mulligan and other senior university officials.
Of the meeting, Shaw wrote, “They took the opportunity to review the situation in more detail.”
News of the federal lawsuit began spreading Friday, after the Salt Lake Tribune published a story about the lawsuit. That day at 3 p.m., the board called an emergency meeting on Zoom, which started 90 minutes later.
The Missouri State University Board of Governors meeting on Friday, October 18, 2024.
Williams served as president of Utah Tech University from 2014 through January 2024. He was named the 12th president of the state of Missouri in March and began working in Springfield this summer.
The federal lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that Williams made a vulgar joke against a Utah Tech colleague and then blamed three other officials, including two women, for contributing to a hostile work environment.
Williams was accused of leaving a “sexual and obscene” display of vegetables on the porch of a Utah Tech official who was recovering from a vasectomy.
Williams left a note at the scene calling the long zucchini a “zuweenie,” but instead of signing his own name, he signed the names of three of their colleagues.
Rebecca Broadbent, Hazel Sainsbury and Jared Rasband filed the suit. The three, who all played a role in enforcing Title IX laws and policies, said they were not part of the apparent prank.
They claim that the vegetable display and accompanying note discredited them and were the culmination of the pushback against their efforts to create a campus environment free of harassment and discrimination.
Photos of the vegetable exhibit arranged as male genitalia and the note were included as part of the federal lawsuit filed Thursday.
In the lawsuit, the three allege they faced resistance, intimidation, intimidation and retaliation from Utah Tech’s top leaders — Williams was named first in a list of university leaders, including the now interim president — and when they complained, there was a “sham investigation and cover-up.”
Less than two months after the incident in November 2023, Williams made public his plans to resign in early January 2024 to pursue a career elsewhere. As part of a separation agreement, the university agreed to pay Williams an annual “transition year” salary of $357,000 through January 2025.
Williams was one of three finalists to succeed the retiring Clif Smart in the position. One of the other finalists, Missouri State Provost John Jasinski, faced public criticism over the circumstances of his departure from Northwest Missouri State University, where he had been president. He will retire at the end of the year 2024-2025.
In the state of Missouri, Williams’ annual salary is $475,000. He is paid $39,583 per month.
More: Missouri’s president responds to a federal lawsuit over a ‘vulgar’ incident at Utah Tech
Williams sent a message to campus Saturday morning. In it he called the ‘zuweenie’ incident a mistake, a joke and an ‘error of judgement’.
“I apologize for the unnecessary attention this has brought to the university,” he wrote. “This experience continues to remind me of the importance of always striving to provide a campus environment that is safe and welcoming for all students, faculty and staff.”
Missouri State President Richard “Biff” Williams during the MSU Board of Governors Meeting on Friday, October 18, 2024.
That same day, the MSU administration issued a strong statement of support for Williams, saying it remained committed to “working with him to ensure the university is a safe and welcoming environment for all students, faculty and staff.”
The original contract between Missouri State and Williams required him to be evaluated annually. The first evaluation would start on November 1.
According to his contract with the university, his employment may be terminated at any time for “just cause” such as breach of contract or university policy, violation of state or federal law, moral turpitude, dishonesty, gross negligence and insubordination.
If such termination is justified, he will be given ten days’ notice during which he can defend himself against any accusation.
If Williams is terminated without cause, the university agrees to pay liquidated damages “in an amount equal to twelve months of Dr. Williams’ then salary.”
If he chooses to quit or retire, he must give 180 days’ notice.
This article originally appeared on the Springfield News-Leader: MSU administration was ‘unaware’ of president’s vulgar incident in last job
