Former Utah Tech president sued by university lawyers, Title IX coordinator

ST. GEORGE, Utah – The former president of Utah Tech University is at the center of a federal lawsuit by three St. George school employees, alleging he presided over a toxic culture of harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

When Richard “Biff” Williams stepped down as president of Utah Tech University late last year, he said it was to pursue other professional opportunities. Although the resignation was officially voluntary, some have questioned why Williams has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation since leaving the university.

State records show Williams has received $280,294 from Utah Tech this year, even though he has not been president of the school since January.

Now, just weeks after he was officially inaugurated as president of Missouri State University, Williams has sent an apology to staff and students at the Springfield campus after a federal lawsuit was filed against him, as well as Utah Tech and the higher education leaders in the state.

The lawsuit, initially reported by the Salt Lake Tribuneclaims that Williams pulled off a prank by leaving vegetables shaped like male genitalia and a note on the doorstep of marketing and communications vice president Jordon Sharp as he recovered from a vasectomy. A note was left with the misspelled names of Utah Tech’s top two attorneys and the Title IX coordinator.

These three people – Rebecca Broadbent, Jared Rasband and Hazel Sainsbury – who say they had nothing to do with the prank are the ones filing charges. When contacted by FOX 13 News, they declined to comment and said they had shared enough information in the lawsuit.

In an email shared with Missouri state officials over the weekend, Williams admitted to participating in what he said was intended as a humorous gesture.

“I have since come to realize that the joke was inappropriate,” he said. “This was a mistake. I regret my error in judgment.”

The Springfield News-Leader in Missouri reports that the university’s board of trustees will meet behind closed doors on Wednesday “on a legal matter,” although it is not clear that Williams is the subject.

FOX 13 News has obtained the separation agreement between Williams and Utah Tech. The separation was described as voluntary and involved Williams continuing to receive his $357,000 annual salary in a transition year until he was moved to a new position. He was named the new president of the state of Missouri in July and officially took over the position in early October.

Sharp said he could not speak to FOX 13 and deferred to his deputy Jyl Hall, who confirmed Williams was paid until he took the new position as terms of the separation agreement, but received no additional compensation for his resignation.

That still made Williams Utah Tech’s third-highest paid employee this year.

Broadbent, who was placed on involuntary leave in February and remains so due to what the university said was an investigation into the “prank,” is the fifth highest-paid employee at Utah Tech this year, with a total of $266,774, according to state records. 34 .