LOS ANGELES — California State University Chancellor Joseph I. Castro has resigned amid scrutiny over his handling of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment allegations while he was president at Fresno State.
The announcement followed an hours-long closed-door session with the Board of Trustees.
“I have been honored to serve the California State University for more than eight years, including as its eighth chancellor, and the decision to resign is the most difficult of my professional life,” Castro said in statement. “While I disagree with many aspects of recent media reports and the ensuing commentary, it has become clear to me that resigning at this time is necessary so that the CSU can maintain its focus squarely on its educational mission and the impactful work yet to be done.”
Board of Trustee Chair Lillian Kimbell said in a statement that “we appreciate Chancellor Castro’s cooperation with the Trustees and his decision to step down for the benefit of California State University system,” Board of Trustee Chair Lillian Kimbell said in a statement.
The trustees will finalize a succession plan soon. Until then, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer, Steve Relyea, will serve as acting chancellor until an interim chancellor has been named.
Castro’s resignation comes amid widespread criticism after reports that as president of Fresno State in 2020, Castro quietly authorized a $260,000 payout and a retirement package for former Vice President of Student Affairs Frank Lamas, who was the subject of complaints of bullying and sexual harassment that began in 2014. Castro also provided a glowing letter of recommendation to Lamas without disclosing university investigative findings supporting the allegations of sexual misconduct.
Three weeks later, the Board of Trustees named Castro as the eighth chancellor of the 23-campus Cal State system. Castro said he did not inform the board about the investigation or the settlement.
The Fresno State investigation of Lamas was launched in 2019 after a female employee filed an official Title IX complaint, alleging that he touched her knee and moved his hand up her thigh while talking to her in a car about job prospects after at least two years of other unwelcome contact.
Lamas has denied any wrongdoing and said he received positive evaluations during his tenure under Castro. He told the Times that he had thought about leaving or moving to a faculty position after complaints first surfaced, but was encouraged by Castro to stay. He retired on Dec. 31, 2020.
“We hoped the things said about my personal character would end. I had never experienced such things,” he said.
Castro and Fresno State officials told The Times that the university followed Cal State procedures and did not immediately launch an investigation into Lamas because no one filed a formal Title IX complaint against him when allegations began to surface in 2014. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in education by institutions that receive federal funding.
Lamas was hired as Vice President of Student Affairs in May 2014. According to his hiring letter, he reported directly to Castro and held so-called “retreat rights” which would have allowed him to move into a faculty position should he be terminated from his position of leadership. As part of Lamas’ hiring agreement, he could have become an assistant professor with the university’s Department of Educational Research and Administration
Castro said a settlement was the only way to cut ties with Lamas permanently and keep him from returning to the Cal State system.
Fresno State said it has since eliminated the so-called “retreat rights” from hiring negotiations for employees.
The disclosures have created a leadership crisis for Castro, who was hailed as a passionate advocate for students and employees when he was selected by trustees.
Sacramento lawmakers, the California Faculty Assn. — the union that represents more than 29,000 Cal State faculty members — and students immediately called on the board to launch an investigation, and a petition from more than 200 Cal State Long Beach faculty called on Castro to resign. Assemblyman Jim Patterson has also called for a state audit to examine Title IX protocols within the university system and to determine whether the incidents are symptomatic of a widespread problem in the nation’s largest four-year public university system.
In recent interviews, several faculty members at Fresno State said Lamas’ alleged harassment and bullying of students and staff were well-known across the campus community.
An employee in Castro’s presidential office reported to an external investigator that she had been berated and intimidated by Lamas, according to the findings of a 2020 workplace investigation report obtained by The Times.
“Over the past few years, he has raised his voice, asked questions without allowing her to answer, interrupted her and stood over her while she was sitting at her desk in a way that was not respectful,” the April 2020 report said of Lamas’ interactions with the employee.
Castro’s handling of the Lamas case highlights the wide latitude that senior administrators hold in interpreting when a complaint should be investigated, according to Fresno State Professor Kathryn Forbes, an expert in sexual harassment and employment discrimination. She said senior administrators in the Cal State system are more interested in preventing potential legal problems than in rooting out suspected harassment, intimidation and retaliation.
“The primary objective,” she said, “is to try to head stuff off before going to the courtroom.”
