University ousts dean who questioned use of state funds
Internal memos and emails show the dean, and lawmakers, took issue with a $500,000 transfer from a state engineering initiative to the nascent School of Computing — a division run by Seidel's partner.
A former University of Wyoming dean demoted Wednesday recently objected to a planned $500,000 transfer from his own unit to another, an investigation by the Laramie Reporter finds.
Internal memos and emails obtained through records requests show that Cameron Wright — until this week, the dean of UW’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences — claimed to be defending the “intent of the legislature” by refusing to sign off on the transfer.
The transfer in controversy would have drawn half a million dollars from a pool of money earmarked by lawmakers to support the Tier 1 Engineering Initiative in order to bolster UW’s new School of Computing.
While the School of Computing is currently housed in the College of Engineering, UW plans to stand it up as its own independent entity. For some period of time, the university administration aimed to keep funneling the $500,000 from Tier 1 into the School of Computing, the records show.
Wright objected to the plan.
“I believe [continuing the transfer] would be interpreted as being contrary to the intent of the legislature,” Wright alleges in an August email to then-Provost Kevin Carman. “I believe that in taking that action, there would likely be negative political and financial ramifications for UW.”
The records also show state lawmakers attempted to intervene — both to stop the transfer of funds and to shield Wright from retaliation for standing up to the administration.
In September, Rep. Karlee Provenza (HD-45) and Sen. Chris Rothfuss (SD-9), whose districts cover the university’s main campus in Laramie, penned a letter to Gov. Mark Gordon and the UW Board of Trustees.
“When the [School of Computing] eventually separates from the College of Engineering, it must do so without diminishing the resources, faculty, or capacity of the College in any way,” the lawmakers write. “It is also crucial that all appropriated Tier 1 engineering funds remain dedicated solely to the College of Engineering, as intended by the legislature.”
Provenza and Rothfuss further urged UW not to punish Wright for his “principled” leadership.
“Dean Wright is highly respected by University of Wyoming students, faculty, and staff, as well as stakeholders throughout the state and our legislative colleagues,” they write. “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.”
In the documents obtained by the Reporter, UW leaders defended the ongoing transfer as being “entirely consistent with the original intent of the Tier 1 initiative” because — even under the umbrella of the School of Computing — it was being used to advance UW’s engineering excellence goals, such as by supporting a computational and engineering science minor.
Neither Wright, nor the lawmakers, objected to this use of Tier 1 funding until it became a matter of moving that $500,000 out of the College of Engineering into a distinct entity.
“It is my understanding that the Tier-1 Engineering Initiative funds were intended to be dedicated to [the College of Engineering] and programs under its authority,” Wright states in the August letter to Carman. “I am aware of no provision of the Tier-1 budget which authorizes the redirection of funds from a budget specifically intended for [the college] to an independent unit outside its supervision.”
State leaders crafted the Tier 1 Engineering Initiative more than a decade ago with the aim of making UW’s School of Engineering one of the top such schools in the nation.
UW now receives $18.5 million every biennium for the Tier 1 Engineering Initiative. From that pool of money, $500,000 has been deposited annually into the School of Computing’s coffers.
Public documents now show that the transfer will end when the School of Computing gains independence.
“Once [the School of Computing] becomes independent the $500K Tier 1 funds will remain in [the College of Engineering],” notes page 84 of the UW Trustees’ March report. The report states “alternative” funds will be provided to the School of Computing “to continue the computational science and engineering efforts.”
But the internal records obtained by the Reporter show UW had initially planned to keep funneling the half million in Tier 1 funds to the School of Computing even after the school had gained independence.
In August, lawmakers asked to see the memorandum of understanding (MOU) allowing the transfer to continue post-independence. That MOU evidently did not exist so UW leaders drafted one, sending it to both the director of the School of Computing, Gabrielle Allen, and to Wright as dean of the Engineering College.
Allen signed the MOU; Wright did not.
UW quietly announced in a February email from the acting provost that Allen, the School of Computing’s first and so far only director, “will not seek an extension to her 3-year appointment and will step down as Director of the School at the end of this summer.”
Allen is the partner of UW President Ed Seidel.
Archived web pages show conflict of interest management plans for Allen and Seidel were added to their respective university profiles only amid the internal disagreements about Tier 1 funding. (For example, a Sept. 12 capture of Allen’s profile features no link to such a plan. By Feb. 15, it had been added. The link remains there today.)
During last Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting, Wright fielded comments from frustrated trustees who were dissatisfied with the college’s progress toward its various Tier 1 Engineering goals.
On Monday, the trustees hosted a previously unscheduled special meeting to discuss an undisclosed “personnel matter” in executive session. They met for about an hour.
UW announced Wright’s removal in a campuswide email Wednesday, sending shockwaves throughout campus that have stirred faculty, donors and state lawmakers.
The announcement stated “a change in leadership is needed” for the university “to achieve the aspirations of the Tier-1 Engineering Initiative.”
Wright had served as the College of Engineering’s dean since 2019.
This is a developing story. More coverage to follow.
Will the partners be looking for new jobs together?
As a "concerned" EE alum, I think this is extremely disappointing. I don't think the trustees have a firm grip on reality.
The reality is that they weren't allocating nearly enough funds to (on their own) make WYO a Tier 1 engineering college. Frankly, the amount allocated was/is "mice nuts" compared to what would really be needed.
Take a look at the budgets of Cal Tech and MIT or CMU and you'll see what I mean.
Also, WYO has a culture where certain department heads promise "stuff" (jobs for spouses, etc.) verbally and then never follow through....additionally, they pay well below "norm" for comparable assistant prof positions. I don't (personally) know that this behavior is endemic or pervasive, but I suspect it is.
If you want to be competitive, you have to step up to the plate in all aspects (funding, talent attraction/retention, research and program quality). You can't "pick and choose" between them. They are all relevant and MANDATORY!
It really is as simple as that!