A former University of Wyoming dean alleges in a new lawsuit that his removal earlier this year constituted an act of retaliation on the part of UW administration.
As dean of the engineering college, Cameron Wright blocked a $500,000 transfer of state funds from his college to the School of Computing at a time when the computing school was helmed by the university president’s romantic partner.
"[UW] has no legitimate or lawful reason for the actions taken against Plaintiff, which actions were taken against him solely in retaliation for his opposition to a diversion of funds allocated to the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences without legal authority," the suit alleges.
The funding in question comes from the Tier 1 Engineering Initiative, which aims to propel the UW College of Engineering into one of the nation’s top engineering schools. The state gives UW several million dollars a year to support this goal.
The lawsuit alleges UW President Ed Seidel wanted $500,000 from this pool to be put toward the School of Computing to support salaries and other expenses at the intersection of computing and engineering.
At the time, the School of Computing was run by Seidel's romantic partner, Gabrielle Allen, who is an accomplished researcher in her own right.
According to the lawsuit, Seidel officially removed himself from negotiations about that transfer because of his relationship with Allen, but allegedly pushed for it behind the scenes regardless.
"In July and August, 2024, in spite of his purported removal from those negotiations, President Seidel personally and through third parties improperly pressured Plaintiff to sign, with Dr. Allen, a 'Memorandum of Understanding' which would have committed the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences to divert Tier I Engineering Initiative Funds allocated exclusively to the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and programs and units under its authority to [the School of Computing]," the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit was filed June 12 in Albany County District Court. UW has not yet filed a response.
Funding dispute, abrupt ouster, campus uproar
Internal emails obtained by the Laramie Reporter showed Wright had objected to the transfer because he viewed it as inconsistent with the will of the Wyoming Legislature.
The lawsuit reiterates this point, stating Wright believed making the transfer "would be a demonstration of fraud or gross mismanagement in state government and/or would be a violation of a law, regulation, code or rule adopted under the laws of this state."
"Plaintiff expressed his concerns in person and through emails with President Seidel and Provost [Kevin Carman] … the use of Tier 1 Engineering Initiative Funds for a unit outside the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences was not wise and would be interpreted as contrary to the intent of the legislature, would set a 'troublesome' precedent, and presented the likelihood of 'negative political and financial ramifications' for the University of Wyoming," the lawsuit alleges.
The suit claims Seidel then removed Wright for standing in the way of the $500,000 transfer.
The suit further alleges that Seidel engaged in the "public dissemination of false information concerning Plaintiff's tenure as Dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Science" and that the UW Board of Trustees did the same.
The suit does not elaborate on the alleged "false information" it references. However, days before Wright's removal, the dean was called before the trustees to outline his college's progress toward Tier I Engineering goals. Wright provided a report totaling more than 300 pages addressing more than a dozen metrics, though he noted some metrics were difficult to quantify.
The trustees were not impressed. Some members of the board accused Wright of obfuscation by providing "a document dump" instead of "a clear update."
UW later said in a news release that Wright's removal was connected to his college's Tier I progress. UW denies that Wright's dismissal was connected to the transfer dispute.
Wright was a popular dean and his abrupt removal caused an uproar on campus. It inspired the Faculty Senate to pass a vote of no confidence in Seidel's leadership and it caused some donors to pause their support. The board established a "shared governance" committee in the immediate aftermath to quell the faculty revolt.
Wright is asking the court to make UW reinstate him as dean.
The future of the School of Computing
The School of Computing has been incubated within the College of Engineering since it launched in 2022, but is fully separating from its parent college this summer.
Wright did not object to the funding transfer when it meant the $500,000 would stay under the umbrella of the engineering college. His objection began when UW recommended continuing the transfer even after the computing school separated from the engineering college to stand as its own campus unit.
UW announced last winter that Seidel's partner, Gabrielle Allen, would be stepping down from her directorship.
On June 16, UW announced the computing school's current academic director, Beth McMillan, will serve as its interim director as UW launches a national search for the school's first official dean.
