The University of Colorado Board of Regents censured Regent Wanda James on Wednesday following an independent investigation into allegations that she tried to eliminate funding for a CU campaign about the risks of high-potency marijuana.
The board found that James had violated her duties as a regent, and board members voted to enact a series of sanctions against her. James will be removed from all regent committee assignments, including regent committee leadership positions, and prevented from any future assignments. She will not be allowed to attend university events as a regent, but she will still attend all regent meetings and be an active voting member of the board.
“Today is not about a censure,” James said during the Wednesday regents meeting. “It is about censorship and retaliation. … I was not hired by this board, and I will not be silenced by its traditions or afraid of this vote. I am being targeted for raising my voice against a campaign that demeaned, dehumanized and harmed the Black community.”
The CU regents launched an independent review into James in March after James, a marijuana dispensary owner, was accused of trying to eliminate funding for the campaign. James raised concerns about what she said were racially insensitive images used in an educational campaign called “The Tea on THC,” produced by the Colorado School of Public Health at CU’s Anschutz Medical Campus.
Regent Ilana Spiegel said she supports James in her concerns about the racist images, which were removed.
“What I cannot support are subsequent efforts to misrepresent facts, politicize science and misuse the platform of this office in ways that undermine trust and distract from our mission,” Spiegel said during Wednesday’s meeting.
The board determined in June that the independent review identified potential policy violations and voted to pursue another investigation under Regent Policy 2.M, which is reprimand or censure of a board member.
According to that investigation report, there was evidence that James had criticized the “Tea on THC” campaign publicly and had privately reached out to faculty members and government officials, including the governor’s office. The report alleges that she requested that state officials pull funding from the Colorado School of Public Health and that officials divert funding from the campaign to grants for marijuana business owners.
“Regent James either influenced the decision to defund important science without … the input of the rest of the board, or she misrepresented the extent of her involvement to both the university and the public,” Spiegel said.
After reviewing the report, the Board of Regents found on Wednesday that James violated her regent duties of care and loyalty. Duty of care requires regents to act in the best interest of the university. Duty of loyalty requirees regents to “faithfully pursue the interests and mission of the university, rather than the regent’s own interests or the interests of another person or organization.”
“Truth-telling is not lobbying, and defending your community is never a conflict of interest,” James told the board.
Regent Elliott Hood said James publicly and continuously smeared the program and attempted to discredit the research of scientists and pull their funding.
“And even if you believed, as a cannabis advocate, that the program’s research findings were inaccurate, you cannot put your interests or the interests of your trade above that of the university that you serve and lead,” Hood told James.
In April, investigators had asked to interview governor’s office staff members, but the request was denied. In June, the governor’s office did not respond to investigators’ requests for answers to written questions.
Early Wednesday morning, governor’s office attorneys sent a statement to the CU System.
“The Governor does not have any recollection of speaking to Regent Wanda James during the time the administration was developing the 2025-2026 budget submission,” the statement read. “He was, however, made aware of the deeply insensitive images created by the CU School of Public Health’s ‘Tea on THC Campaign,’ funded by HB 21-1317. … The Governor has long been skeptical of the funding for this program; in fact, during debate about the original bill he advocated that funding for marketing not go to the CU School of Public Health.”
James said she “clearly did not speak to the governor’s office.”
Regent Frank McNulty noted: “To me, it is a bit of a distraction that (the governor’s) statement came in at the 11th hour just before our consideration of the reports that are in front of us.” .
Regent Nolbert Chavez voted against censure. As required by regent policy, James abstained from voting.
“Did all of the white regents just tell the Black community that we no longer have a voice, that we are no longer allowed to be at the events where the people who elected me are at?” James told the Daily Camera after the meeting. “Because I’ve broken no laws, I’ve done nothing criminal. The only thing that I have done is speak loudly about racism.”
The sanctions against James are in effect until the end of her term as regent in 2029, but can be revised or removed before that if the board decides to do so, according to the resolution.
In 2022, the Board of Regents censured Regent Glen Gallegos after the board found that he had repeatedly engaged in hostile and abusive verbal behavior toward women. James is the second regent to ever be censured.
As of June 17, the cost for both reviews regarding James and Regent Callie Rennison, who was cleared of accusations she was paid full-time for part-time work, was $317,625.50. This does not reflect a final total. The cost is paid for by the CU system office risk management, which is CU’s insurance expense.
