SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Missouri State University President Richard “Biff” Williams sent a message to students Saturday regarding a lawsuit involving an incident at his former university.

In the email, Williams says that while he was president at Utah Tech University, he initiated a humorous gesture toward a university staff member and now realizes the prank was inappropriate.

“It was a mistake. I regret my lack of judgment and take this as a learning moment,” Williams said.

Williams says the incident is now included in a lawsuit that has been released to Utah media.

“This experience continues to remind me how important it is to always strive to foster a safe and welcoming campus environment for all students, faculty and staff,” Williams added.

The lawsuit was filed by three Utah Tech staff members who are part of the university’s Office of Equity and Compliance and Title IX. Two of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are women, one of whom is black, and the third plaintiff is a man. Williams is among 20 defendants listed in the suit.

The lawsuit says that over the past several years, the plaintiffs have worked hard to establish a non-discrimination environment at Utah Tech, but have been met with strong pushback, intimidation, discrimination, harassment, abuse and retaliation in their continued attempts to educate management Utah Tech. about and to comply with the University’s policies on discrimination and harassment, including Title IX and Title VII.

The incident that Williams mentioned to MSU students is listed in detail in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, on November 8, 2023, Williams placed a display of assorted vegetables in the shape of male genitalia on the porch of a vice president who was recovering from surgery.

The lawsuit says Williams then left a note for the vice president with the vegetables and said it was from the three plaintiffs. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs had no knowledge of, nor consent to, being on the letter.

The note read: “Dear Jordan: We wanted to wish you well as you recover from your outpatient procedure. We thought some delicious produce from our garden would help you recover. Here are two delicious eggplants and our award winning courgette, or as we like to call it, “zuw***ie”. All the best with your recovery.”

Followed by “Sincerely” and the names of the three complainants. The lawsuit also says two of the names were misspelled.

According to the lawsuit, earlier that day, Williams told his chief of staff that he planned to leave a gift for the vice president and suggested it would be something funny they could laugh about afterward.

That vice president, who oversees Utah Tech’s marketing and communications team, then sent Williams the picture of the gift and letter and video of the Ring doorbell and asked if it was him.

According to the lawsuit, the doorbell footage shows a man in a hoodie, pulled up to hide his face, making the delivery, but Williams denied any knowledge of the delivery.

The vice president then asked other senior staff about it before creating a group chat with the 11 full-time marketing and communications teams and sending them the picture of the vegetables and the note.

The lawsuit says that even days after the incident, VP shared the picture with several people connected to the three plaintiffs and even shared it during a Board of Directors luncheon attended by several members of the university staff and administration, along with administrators.

That vice president and other university administration talked to one of the plaintiffs over lunch and joked with him about the matter, although the plaintiff was not involved.

“The plaintiff was shocked, embarrassed and humiliated by this unexpected encounter in the presence of a group of his senior administrators on campus and at the hands of two of Utah Tech’s vice presidents. Despite the power differential, Plaintiff attempted to make clear to this large group of Utah Tech Cabinet members and executives that he and the other members of OGC and the Title IX Office had nothing to do with this offensive act and did not was something they would ever do,” the lawsuit states.

Plaintiffs then reported the vegetable incident to Utah Tech’s executive director of human resources.

The lawsuit says that in December 2023, the university’s legal counsel contacted the plaintiffs, saying their Title IX complaints against Williams had been dismissed because Williams had resigned as president, so they would no longer have jurisdiction over him. Williams since he leaves.

Williams was named MSU president in March of this year after a national search following Clif Smart’s retirement. He began work in July, and the university formally inaugurated Williams as president on October 17.

The lawsuit continues to go into detail about the Title IX and other discrimination and harassment claims by the 20 different defendants.

The three plaintiffs are asking that the incidents in the lawsuit be tried by a jury. The plaintiffs also seek economic and non-economic damages caused by the defendants and other court fees.

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