Seidel seeks to avoid faculty no confidence vote
An early morning email asks faculty to “pause and reflect” ahead of a planned vote of no confidence later today.
Uncertainty grips the University of Wyoming campus this morning.
As faculty, staff and donors consider their next moves following last week’s ouster of Cameron Wright as dean of the College of Engineering, UW President Ed Seidel urged the campus to “take a moment to pause and reflect.”
“The past weeks and months have been intense for all of us, including national uncertainty in higher education, and local budgets and university programs under scrutiny. Understandably, emotions are running high, and concerns about the future are real,” Seidel writes in a Monday morning email sent to all employees and all students. “I write today to affirm my respect for shared governance and my commitment to a transparent and collaborative university. I stand ready to discuss how better to achieve this goal.”
One week ago, the UW trustees met for an hour in executive session to decide Wright’s fate. On Wednesday, UW announced his removal as dean, saying “a change in leadership is needed” for the university “to achieve the aspirations of the Tier-1 Engineering Initiative.”
Tier 1 is a state-funded program that aims to make UW one of the top engineering schools in the nation.
Internal memos and emails obtained by the Laramie Reporter show Wright objected to a planned $500,000 transfer in Tier 1 funds from his own College of Engineering to the blossoming School of Computing.
The School of Computing is helmed, for now, by Seidel’s partner, Gabrielle Allen.
As Wright resisted the administration’s plan for this half-million, the documents show state lawmakers inserted themselves into the conversation, arguing against the transfer itself and warning UW not to retaliate against Wright.
“Dean Wright is highly respected by University of Wyoming students, faculty, and staff, as well as stakeholders throughout the state and our legislative colleagues,” states a letter penned by Rep. Karlee Provenza (HD-45) and Sen. Chris Rothfuss (SD-9). “It is essential that Dean Wright be protected from any punitive actions and allowed to continue his important work on behalf of the College and the state.”
Immediately before and following Wright’s ouster last week, several elements of the campus community responded in rapid succession. Various documents obtained by the Reporter show:
College of Engineering department heads penned a letter outlining their staunch support for Wright. “He has been an outstanding steward of [college] resources, especially the Tier-1 Engineering Initiative funds,” they write. “He has remained an approachable leader and a superb manager of people while making hard decisions with high integrity. We know that Dean Wright has exceptionally strong relationships with donors who are also rallying at this time to demonstrate their support.”
The Ellbogen Foundation, a major fundraiser for UW, announced Wednesday that its Board of Directors had paused consideration of UW grant requests “for the spring 2025 funding cycle as well as future grantmaking.” “The manner and lack of transparency in which business was conducted diminishes the confidence and trust that are foundational to our commitments as a donor,” states a letter signed by board members. “Without these fundamental elements, it becomes increasingly challenging to effectively steward the funds of the Ellbogen Foundation.”
The Faculty Senate drafted a resolution calling for a vote of no confidence ahead of their scheduled meeting this afternoon. The Reporter has seen a draft of that resolution. It points to various parts of UW Regulations dealing with shared governance noting the removal of academic officers, such as deans, should involve input from faculty. “Over the past five years, we cannot recall the removal of ANY Academic Officer that has involved significant faculty participation. They have been dismissed under a shroud of secrecy that prevents holding leadership accountable for any decision that is made,” the resolution states. “UW cannot achieve its goals without trust in leadership and a willingness to work together, based on mutual respect. The President’s seemingly arbitrary actions, unwillingness to incorporate the views of others, and lack of concern for true Shared Governance has eroded what little trust remained between the faculty and his office.”
There have been other high-level removals before this one which did not involve the input of faculty. The clearest example was last fall’s ouster of then-Provost Kevin Carman, another fairly popular administrator who was dismissed abruptly with little explanation.
Just more than one year ago, UW removed an unpopular dean of the College of Health Sciences — though his removal was actively championed and celebrated by faculty.
Seidel’s Monday morning email to campus seeks to halt the Faculty Senate’s planned no confidence vote.
UW maintains that Wright was not demoted because of his stance on the $500,000 transfer. Instead, as UW spokesman Chad Baldwin wrote in a statement to WyoFile, “The University had several performance reasons for his removal as Dean … The College has not met many of these (Tier 1) goals and he could not articulate a cogent plan to make progress on meeting the goals.”
This is in line with what the campus community heard during the public portions of last week’s trustees meeting, when Wright was called before the board.
The now ousted dean defended his college’s work toward the 16 Tier 1 goals outlined by the initiative’s crafters more than a decade ago. Trustees voiced displeasure with his progress and asked him to return in May with better measures.
In his email to campus, Seidel did not discuss the reasons behind Wright’s removal.
“While one viewpoint has been prominent on the faculty listserv, it is clear from statements from the university and reports in the news media that this is a more complex and nuanced situation,” the president writes. “Personnel actions at the level of a dean or vice president are made by the board per UW regulations. These decisions are never made lightly and, by law, discussions in executive session cannot be shared publicly.”
Seidel adds that he “appreciate[s] that simply stating that decisions were well-considered is not enough to build or maintain trust,” but reiterates that “legal restraints” keep him from speaking on the matter more freely.
“But given the many conversations I have had over the last few days, it has become apparent to me that the calls for a Faculty Senate vote reveal deeper and pent-up concerns about shared governance, the strength of which had not been apparent in my frequent meetings over the past year with faculty leadership,” Seidel writes. “I remain deeply committed to the University of Wyoming and to working with Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, ASUW, our deans and the Board of Trustees to rebuild trust, improve communications, ensure shared governance remains strong and work with you all to make our university the best it can be.”
Seidel writes he is meeting with the remaining deans “this morning” and hosting a town hall today from 2-2:30 p.m. He plans to follow that town hall with an hour and a half of individual meetings for those who sign up.
“I hope that will be the start of an enhanced dialogue with campus on issues that matter to us all,” Seidel writes. “And, through this ongoing dialogue, I hope that we can have a better mutual understanding, so all can be better prepared to make thoughtful and well-informed decisions about the future of our university.”
The Faculty Senate meets this afternoon, but plans to consider the resolution in an executive session closed to the public.
As state and federal mandates seek to alter life on campus — disallowing the university’s ban on guns in campus buildings, forbidding DEI in its classrooms or programs, and allowing federal immigration agents to come on campus looking for individuals — UW has said it will readily comply.
Jeff, this was an excellent explanation of the UW decision making and challenges facing the Campus President after a clouded decision was brought to light. I appreciate your journalist prowess and clarification regarding this situation. Well done!
The letter from the Ellbogen Foundation should cause some Board of Trustee resignations beyond Seidel's.
You can't have a top anything if no one can trust you and you've demonstrated failed leadership.