CU Board of Regents votes to censure Glen Gallegos
Oct. 12—The University of Colorado Board of Regents on Wednesday unanimously agreed — for the first time in board history — to censure a regent for violating policies barring mistreatment of school employees.
Glen Gallegos, 72, a Republican from Grand Junction, was censured after he reportedly engaged in repeated hostile and abusive verbal behavior toward women, a pattern that culminated this year with a problematic incident, according to reporting by the Denver Post.
Regents cast the unanimous vote to censure Gallegos during a special meeting Wednesday afternoon, which followed an hours-long executive session.
Following the meeting, a resolution pertaining to the censure was posted on the regent's online meeting agenda.
The resolution said Gallegos, while in a position of power, had both public and private conversations and interactions with university employees, fellow regents, and others that were disparaging, disrespectful and, at times, had been perceived as threatening.
"I think it's pretty serious," Gallegos said after the meeting. "I think the board, and I as well, believe that I have violated a board policy and what led to it was some conversations that were with university people. I probably tend to burn hot. It was an issue, and I am not even sure what the issue was now."
Gallegos said he learned about the board's plans to censure him several weeks ago and said "it wasn't a great mystery."
"I have been on the board for 10 years, and there are all topics that I care about — that university people care about," he said. "Sometimes (discussions) deal with policies or events. I don't think in 10 years I have made it a habit of doing (disrespecting employees) but I have done that."
Moving forward, Gallegos said he plans to be "kinder" and gentler" when speaking with people and vowed to do better.
"I think that sometimes when people know you are a regent, they take the conversation much more seriously than it is," he said. "I know I can do better."
A censure prohibits Gallegos from leadership positions and removes privileges, such as invitations and complimentary tickets to CU events including sports. But censure cannot remove a regent from the nine-member board, which is charged with running CU's four campuses.
The board must find evidence and can only censure a regent after an investigation is conducted, according to board policy. Any censure must occur during a public meeting.
The board can decide to revise or remove the censure before the end of Gallegos's term if he demonstrates "sincere intention to address the conduct" that is in violation with board policies, the resolution states.
Gallegos is a former educator and is retired from a family-owned construction company. He was first elected to the board in 2012 and re-elected for a second term in 2018. Gallegos represents Colorado's 3rd Congressional District.
"The Board of Regents has high expectations for how our students, faculty and staff conduct themselves and engage with each other, along with policies and practices that embody those expectations," wrote Lesley Smith, board chair for the CU regents, in a provided statement. "It is important for board members to exemplify what we expect of others in the university community. This censure recognizes that one of our members, who otherwise has been a strong advocate and passionate board member for CU, on more than one occasion has fallen short of our expectations and obligations in some instances. Yet we hope this action will not only address issues in this case but also continue to remind us of our obligation to adhere to high standards of behavior and engagement with members of the university community."
