Assemblyman wants audit of CSU following Fresno State sexual harassment claims

Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) said on Monday that he will request a state audit of the California State University system following a number of sexual harassment claims at Fresno State against former vice president of student affairs Frank Lamas, who departed the university in 2020 with a $260,000 settlement and promise of a letter of recommendation toward future employment.

“I think one of the first principles of the CSU system is to look out for students and for employees and when they get reports like this they have to be taken seriously from the get go, they have to investigate them clearly and when they have findings that are detrimental to the individual and require termination or separation that needs to be public, transparent and we need to the degree we can know what’s going on and who did what and what kind of accountability is there going to be,” Patterson said.

“Instead, what we have is a system that is fearful of being litigated by the very individual who has broken their promise to serve the students of the CSU system and also by offering settlement like the kind of settlement that we have seen, which is to pay them, protect them and to give them a letter of recommendation, they become complicit in this individual finding employment in other places under other circumstances and not knowing the kind of significant behavior that was behind the termination. … ”

“This has to be a system that looks out for the students and the employees rather than looking out for, hiding, doing it in secret, paying off an individual, giving them a letter of recommendation. This just is an embarrassment to the university system and I think it is much more than what happened at Fresno State.”

Patterson made clear that he believes the way Fresno State and former president Dr. Joseph I. Castro handed Lamas during a six-year run at the university that included 12 complaints of sexual harassment and his separation from the university is a systemic problem. He specifically blamed what he described as “dictatorial” practices that he says could have led to Castro’s hands being tied in dealing with the sexual harassment allegations to former CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White, according to his spokeswoman Alisha Gallon.

However, Lamas in an interview with The Bee, claimed he and Castro were close, and called him a “friend,” who was trying to help him find a presidency job. Lamas claimed that he was ready to quit his role as vice president for student affairs & enrollment management after the second complaint was lodged against him, but Castro convinced him to stay and keep “moving forward” in that role.

“Assemblyman Patterson won’t give any credibility to anything Lamas says,” Gallon said when asked about Lamas’ comments about his relationship with Castro.

”He hopes the audit will address inappropriate actions that occurred by all parties involved.”

Patterson in a virtual press conference did not call for Castro, now the CSU chancellor, to be suspended during a potential audit, or say that he would support his resignation if a state audit confirmed reports that he mishandled complaints and Lamas’ separation from the university.

“I’m going to reserve that kind of decision, because I think that it’s important that the audit be rigorous, that (it) dives into the universities and the CSU chancellor’s office and the policies that got us to this point,” he said.

“My hope is that shining this bright light will cause the system itself to make the kinds of changes necessary so that this does not happen again and if the system chooses to ask for Dr. Castro’s resignation, then so be it. But I’m going to reserve any decision until I see the independent audit and what that independent audit finds.”

The Fresno State alum and former Fresno mayor also did not target the university specifically for an audit.

Assemblyman targets ‘systemic’ problem

“We think the auditor can choose three or four campuses, possibly Fresno State, probably San Jose State and maybe a couple of other campuses to do an audit to see if this is specific to the system or perhaps it has to do with the individual campuses,” Patterson said.

“I have confidence that the recommendations that will come out of the auditor’s office will be to recognize the systemic problems and as usual to provide really solid, good pathways to improve and to clean up the system and to make it much more transparent and much more focused on the people they’re supposed to serve rather than the institution they are trying to protect.”

Fresno State and its former president have been under fire since last week when a USA Today report detailed the university’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations against Lamas including that the former university administrator stared at women’s breasts, touched women inappropriately and made sexist remarks, as well as berated and belittled employees.

Lamas in an exclusive interview with The Bee denied the allegations.

Lamas was never formally disciplined by the university, according to the report in USA Today, and Castro instead praised Lamas in annual performance reviews, endorsed him for a prestigious lifetime achievement award and quietly paid Lamas to leave the university after a 2019 Title IX investigation into a claim that he implied he would help an employee get a promotion in exchange for sexual favors.

State senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) has called for an investigation into what Castro knew about the sexual harassment allegations, and students on Saturday called for his resignation in a protest.

Castro told The Bee last week that he would not resign, but is open to an investigation.

Former Fresno State president responds

“When I was president, I did my very best to hold regular open forums, to hear directly from students, faculty, staff, and the community,” Castro said. “I also had an anonymous feedback page where they could share thoughts. Despite that, it does look like there may have been some employees who were hesitant to share their candid views and I want them to know that I’m sorry that they felt unsafe to do that. I tried my very best with (Vice President for Administration and Finance Deborah Adishian-Astone) and others to create the most supportive atmosphere ever and, clearly, for them they may have felt like they could not share specific information. I did my best with Vice President Astone and my colleagues to act quickly upon the information that was given to me.

“Most of these complaints were informal complaints, so to speak, and we took action together to address those in a variety of ways. Things were improving, as far as I could tell. I regret that these things occurred and I did my very best, as soon as I had the investigation completed to facilitate his departure from Fresno State.”

Patterson said he did not have a sense how Democratic colleagues would respond to a call for an audit of the California State University system, but assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) backed the request.

“I agree that there is a need for an independent investigation, and I support my legislative colleagues who already have requested it,” Arambula said, in a statement.

“I hope the CSU board does its due diligence in this matter and, at the same time, keeps its focus on the needs of the hundreds of thousands of students who attend CSU’s public universities.”

This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 1:50 PM.