Thursday, March 28

Cal State changes policy, will investigate after Joseph Castro scandal


The California State University and its Board of Trustees revised a key policy and requested an external investigation into Fresno State officials’ handling of sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation complaints against a senior administrator, the board announced in a press release Tuesday evening.

The announcement comes four weeks after a USA TODAY investigation revealed then-Fresno State President Joseph Castro mishandled the complaints over a six-year period, culminating in a lucrative settlement agreement for the administrator, vice president of student affairs Frank Lamas, days before Castro’s promotion to chancellor of the CSU system.

Castro resigned as chancellor on Feb. 17, two weeks after USA TODAY’s investigation sparked outrage and pressure from lawmakersstudents, faculty, union leaders, and newspaper editorial boards, many of whom called for him to step down.

Read the full investigation:Castro mishandled sexual harassment complaints. Now he leads all 23 Cal State colleges.

“It is important that we understand how campus leaders at Fresno State responded to the workplace concerns about Dr. Frank Lamas,” said CSU board chair Lillian Kimbell in the announcement. “We will investigate the past to reveal potential new facts, learn and take appropriate action.”

Joseph Castro, the eighth chancellor of California State University, says resigning

The chancellor’s office is also finalizing a new systemwide policy intended to prevent administrators like Lamas from keeping their jobs after being found responsible for serious misconduct, said Steve Relyea, who took over as acting chancellor after Castro’s resignation.

Although an internal investigation in 2020 found Lamas responsible for sexually harassing a doctoral student who worked for him, Castro said he chose not to fire or discipline Lamas because he had “retreat rights” in his contract. Retreat rights are meant to provide faculty members who give up tenure to take administrative positions, such as dean and provost, the ability to “retreat” back to the faculty if the administrative position does not work out.

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