The University of Colorado’s Board of Regents has retained Ken Salazar — the Democratic ex-senator and former interior secretary — to advise it on the investigation into Boulder campus officials’ failure to report domestic violence allegations against a former assistant football coach.
That investigation, conducted by Philadelphia-based law firm Cozen O’Connor, has cost CU at least $38,000 to date.
Documents obtained by the Daily Camera on Friday under the Colorado Open Records Act include a contract with Salazar’s law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP confirming the hire on Feb. 16.
Salazar could not immediately be reached for comment.
The university has not yet received bills from Salazar’s firm, which is working on a “flat fee basis,” according to Patrick O’Rourke, vice president of university counsel and secretary of the Board of Regents.
However, CU has been billed by Cozen O’Connor. According to a statement provided by the university, that firm billed CU nearly $38,000 on April 11. O’Rourke said CU has yet to be billed by Cozen O’Connor for work completed since then.
Attorneys Leslie Gomez and Gina Maisto Smith of Cozen O’Connor produced a report on how Chancellor Phil DiStefano, Athletic Director Rick George and football coach Mike MacIntyre responded when they learned of domestic violence allegations against former football coach Joe Tumpkin.
The 97-page report, completed last week, will not be shared with the public in its entirety, CU spokesman Ken McConnellogue has said. Instead, the public will receive a summary of the report’s findings.
On Friday, CU denied a request by the Camera seeking the report under the open records act, saying it was both protected by attorney-client privilege and could be withheld because it contained personnel documents and “work product prepared for elected officials.”
During a Board of Regents meeting Monday that consisted of a seven-hour executive session, regents decided to pass the decision on how to handle the Tumpkin matter to CU President Bruce Benson.
“The board directed President Bruce Benson, in consultation with the board, to outline any necessary changes to university policies and procedures, specify how training and education will be enhanced, and recommend appropriate action for CU employees involved,” the regents said in a statement.
Gomez and Maisto Smith recently investigated Baylor University and produced a report showing that the university did not take seriously complaints of women who had been assaulted by football players. Their investigation resulted in Baylor firing its football coach, suspending its athletic director and demoting university president Kenneth Starr.
Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-473-1106, hernandeze@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/ehernandez
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