Fresno State President Saul Jimenez-Sandoval has been tasked with restructuring and rebuilding the Title IX Office as part of his triennial performance review from the California State University Board of Trustees.
The instruction from CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia and the Board of Trustees comes in the wake of sexual harassment scandals centered on former administrator Frank Lamas and how former president Joseph Castro handled complaints.
The big picture: Every three years the CSU Chancellor’s Office conducts a performance review of Jimenez-Sandoval, with Garcia writing to the Fresno State campus that the board feels Jimenez-Sandoval is a thoughtful leader who has brought healing across constituencies and throughout the community.
- “Overall, the Bulldog community recognized President Jimenez-Sandoval as a valued and respected leader and praised his work to advance Fresno State’s student- and community-focused mission with new academic and support programs, partnerships, and community support,” Garcia wrote.
The backstory: Fresno State was thrust into the limelight two years ago when USA Today published a lengthy report detailing how Castro handled sexual harassment complaints against Lamas.
- Last year the California State Auditor released a report revealing that the CSU system did not adequately or consistently address some of the sexual harassment allegations that occurred at Fresno State during Castro’s tenure.
What we’re watching: Along with the review, Garcia and the CSU Board of Trustees gave Jimenez-Sandoval seven goals that he agreed to work on.
- One of them is to restructure and rebuild the Title IX and Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Office, based on the recommendations from the state auditor and an internal CSU audit.
- Further, Jimenez-Sandoval is tasked with finding a resolution with local tribal partners on how to respectfully treat all tribal items in its collection. That comes after a report from the state auditor last year found that Fresno State did not consult with tribes before adding inventory to its collections.
- The other goals for Jimenez-Sandoval are to increase first-year retention and graduation rates with a focus on closing equity gaps, enhance the university’s curriculum, enhance resources and services designed to foster inclusion and belonging, provide adequate training and support for faculty and staff to enhance research productivity and job satisfaction and strengthen ties with regional community partners to increase alumni engagement.
