LOS ANGELES — The California State University Board of Trustees chair will ask the board to launch an independent investigation into Chancellor Joseph I. Castro’s handling of sexual misconduct and workplace bullying allegations when he was president of Fresno State amid growing demands from the state’s two top higher education legislative leaders and others to examine his role in dealing with complaints that extended over a six-year period.
Chair Lillian Kimbell said in a statement Friday night that Castro is receptive and desires an investigation. “I intend to ask my board colleagues in the coming days to support these steps, as I know it will help us improve practices and policies for the future,” Kimbell said.
Kimbell’s decision comes after Assemblyman Jose Medina, a Democrat, who chairs the Assembly Higher Education Committee, Democratic state Sen. Connie Leyva, chair of the California Senate Education Committee, and the Cal State Faculty Association, the union representing 29,000 employees, called on the board to examine Castro’s handling of a university investigation of former Fresno State Vice President of Student Affairs Frank Lamas.
