MSU Faculty Senate schedules no-confidence vote against president next week

President Richard “Biff” Williams told the Missouri State University Faculty Senate Thursday that an apology he sent to the campus community by email Nov. 9 wasn’t enough. 

“That’s not the way I work. I don’t want to just leave an apology to an email,” he said. “I wanted to publicly apologize for my actions and how my actions have brought a new negative attention to the campus.” 

Williams’ visit may have sought to mend fences with the MSU faculty, but following his remarks, faculty discussed at length a motion of no confidence. Ultimately, they approved a motion to postpone the no-confidence vote for one week, until Nov. 21, so that senators could consult the faculty they represent. 

A federal lawsuit filed Nov. 7 accuses Williams and others of creating a hostile work environment and violating Title IX protections at Utah Tech University, which he served as president before coming to MSU. The complaint describes Williams arranging a zucchini and two eggplants in the shape of male genitalia on the porch of a colleague and falsely attributing the display to three campus administrators. Those three are the plaintiffs in the suit. 

Williams said the incident began with him trying to play a practical joke on a friend. 

“I had no intention, really, to hurting anyone, or no intention of causing any harm – but that wasn’t the case,” he said. “This was between two friends, where I wanted to make him laugh and cheer him up a little bit.” 

He and that friend, Utah Tech Vice President of Marketing & Communication Jordon Sharp, had that kind of joking relationship, Williams said. Sharp had just had a vasectomy when the vegetable display was placed in November 2023. 

“The part of putting names of other colleagues on there was not meant to target, not meant to mock,” he said. “It was initially just thought – it was a mindless thought of mind – to just put names of who would least likely be the ones that do that. I didn’t think, and I wish I would have.” 

Williams said the people whose names he put on the note were friends with whom he had had dinner and gone through hard times. 

“I will always regret having caused them harm,” he said. “I crossed the line, and I shouldn’t have.” 

Despite his taking responsibility for the incident, Williams reminded faculty that the complaint tells only one side of the story. 

“Now it’s morphed into this very large-scale lawsuit that involves more than 20 people; it involves me,” he said. “These are the allegations that I don’t agree with – that I’ll fight – but nonetheless, I’ve brought undue attention to the campus, undue attention to the students and the board.” 

Additionally, he said, it has drawn attention away from MSU’s strategic plan and from shared governance – both areas he described as having a lot of momentum. 

The 2024-25 senate roster lists 58 members, representing faculty by college and by rank, with nonvoting delegates representing undergraduate and graduate students and staff. 

Thursday’s meeting had to be held in the Plaster Student Union Theater, which seats more than 350 and was at near capacity. At the start of the meeting, Chair Scott Zimmerman, associate professor of health sciences, said Faculty Senate meetings are not open to the public, and he asked nonmembers to exit, but then immediately noted that the public, and particularly members of the media, were not likely to leave, so he jumped right in. 

Williams’ comments were early in the agenda and were followed by curricular decisions, but then the senate circled back to the issue involving Williams. 

Faculty Senate member Abby Templer Rodrigues, an associate professor of sociology, presented the motion for a no-confidence vote, titled “Ensuring ethical leadership and inclusive excellence at Missouri State University.” Ethical leadership is one of the three pillars of the university’s public affairs mission, and inclusive excellence has been embraced as one of its core values. 

The resolutionis scheduled to be up for a vote on Nov. 21. If passed, it will be sent to the board of governors, though the board is not bound to take action as a result. 

The resolution reads as follows: 

Whereas, the conduct of President Williams at Utah Tech is not in line with Missouri State University’s commitments to ethical leadership and inclusive excellence; and 

Whereas, the high-profile nature of his breech in ethical leadership and inclusive excellence could negatively affect MSU’s current search for a new provost, development of a strategic plan, as well as the university’s ability to recruit and retain students, staff and faculty; 

Therefore be it resolved, that the senate vote no confidence in the leadership of President Williams. 

Faculty concerns 
Williams discussed elements of the incidents included in the lawsuit, including a pivotal moment described in the complaint as involving plaintiff Rebecca Broadbent, Utah Tech’s general counsel. 

Broadbent had learned that her name was attached to the vegetable display and approached Williams to express her concern, not knowing that she was delivering her complaint to the perpetrator, and Williams did not admit to his role in the incident. 

Williams confirmed that element of the narrative from the lawsuit. 

“With the three individuals, a few days later, when one of them came to my office and she was really distraught – extremely distraught. Crying, yelling, swearing – but it was not about the prank; it was about so much more,” he said. 

He said he told her he was leaving for a trip the next day. 

“So, I got her calmed down,” he said, adding that he asked her to come back with the others involved to sit down and talk about the issue. 

This is where the narratives diverge, according to Williams. 

Williams recalled asking her to sit down and talk about the issue, but when he called after his trip, he got no response. 

“I finally later that night got an email saying, ‘I’m on leave because I’m so distraught’ – and then later on, I find out she had found out it was me, and then I’ve never since, until the hearing, was able to apologize. 

“Did I not tell her? No,” he said. “I was trying to calm her down. I was trying to get her to a place – she was mostly distraught, I was mostly distraught because I had caused this. I was trying to get her to a place where we could have a conversation, and by the time I got back, it was too late.” 

This exchange, as described by Williams, was the sticking point for many members of faculty. 

Faculty Senate member Randi Ulbricht, an associate professor in MSU’s School of Health Sciences, expressed concern about the uneven power dynamic. 

“A lot of the things that he said today, even without the backstory, are very problematic,” she said. “I’m really disappointed in how he failed to stand up for those who were not in power, and there’s some of that happening on our campus. He said he’s been proactive and we haven’t seen that.”  

Near the end of Williams’ Q&A, an unnamed member of the audience asked Williams if he could understand the issue. 

“Can you understand our skepticism?” he asked. “As to why we are worried about recruitment and retention, why we are worried about the future of our searches, why we are worried about the standing of our university?” 

“I can,” Williams replied.