The last dean who stepped down, the Dean of the College of Law, Stephen Easton, accused Sternberg at a university meeting of unethical treatment of staff, professors and schools. “You have not treated this law school ethically.” Sternberg refused to discuss the case at the meeting. The "Casper Star Tribune" portrayed the situation at the university as “chaos in the college”. Additionally, other provosts blamed a lack of respect for and interest in human capital. According to Peter Shive, a professor emeritus, Sternberg asked everyone to wear the school colors, brown and gold, on Fridays. Shive said the farther away from the administrative building he went, the fewer people were wearing brown and gold.