Fresno State president outlines next steps for Foundation governance, operations

Fresno State released a report from the California State University chancellor’s office on Friday that detailed significant weaknesses in governance and financial controls at the Fresno State Foundation, the nonprofit auxiliary that oversees gift and endowment management and the administration of academic grants and contracts at the university.

There was no malfeasance or fraud identified in a 32-page report from CSU Audit and Advisory Services, but it did state that those vulnerabilities and operational inefficiencies increased the Foundation’s exposure to financial misstatement and fraud. It identified 46 areas that required remediation action including in governance and board operations and budget and financial practices.

Fresno State president Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, in a statement to campus that was released with the report, said that the university and Foundation already had taken corrective steps, and cited several priorities moving forward to modernize governance structures and strengthen oversight of the Foundation.

Fresno State, Jiménez-Sandoval said, already established monthly bank reconciliation processes to strengthen banking controls. Some accounts were only balanced and reconciled once a year, the review found.

In five key areas, the planned reforms include:

Governance and board structure

Revising board composition to ensure appropriate University representation

Establishing board and officer term limits

Updating bylaws to reflect current leadership roles and reporting structures

Aligning audit committee composition with regulatory requirements

Roles, Responsibilities, and Agreements

Updating management service agreements to reflect current services and costs

Establishing standardized methodologies for fee calculations and reconciliations

Financial Controls and Oversight

Strengthening segregation of duties across banking and financial systems

Implementing regular fund balance reconciliations

Ensuring timely and complete bank reconciliations for all accounts

Trust Accounts and Stewardship

Enforcing timely renewal of trust account agreements

Implementing monitoring plans to ensure donated funds are used in a timely manner, as intended by the philanthropic partner.

Endowments and Financial Reporting

Improving endowment valuation reporting frequency

Revising administrative fee structures to align with best practices

Standardizing income distribution methodologies

Strengthening indirect cost recovery allocation transparency

This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 4:26 PM.