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Disgraced former CSU chancellor to teach at Cal Poly

October 3, 2022

Joseph Castro

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Former California State University Chancellor Joseph Castro, who resigned amid outcry over his handling of sexual harassment allegations against another administrator, is expected to begin teaching at Cal Poly next spring. [Mustang News]

Castro, who plans to exercise his retreat rights to Cal Poly’s Orfaela College of Business, allegedly mishandled years of sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation complaints against former Fresno State administrator Frank Lamas. The allegations sparked outcry from students, faculty and lawmakers.

The former CSU chancellor, who previously served as Fresno State’s president, repeatedly chose not to discipline Lamas, despite the Central Valley university receiving at least a dozen sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation complaints against him over a period of six years. Castro knew of at least seven of the complaints, yet he praised Lamas publicly, wrote him glowing performance evaluations and endorsed him for a prestigious lifetime award that the administrator ended up winning.

After Fresno State launched a Title IX investigation into Lamas, Castro chose to settle the matter without disciplinary action. In an Aug. 2020 settlement, Castro authorized a $260,000 payment from Fresno State to Lamas, along with a clean record in exchange for Lamas’s retirement. Though the settlement banned Lamas from working for the CSU system again, Castro agreed to write him a letter of recommendation to help him find work elsewhere.

Ultimately, Castro resigned as CSU chancellor in Feb. 2022.

The ex-chancellor is expected to be reinstated as a CSU employee on Feb. 18, 2023. He will then begin a full teaching assignment in April. Castro will teach leadership and public policy in the College of Business’s management, human resources and information systems concentration.

Castro’s retreat rights to Cal Poly were established in Sept. 2020 in accordance with the standard process of naming a new CSU chancellor. Cal Poly is mandated to grant the faculty position to Castro, university spokesman Matt Lazier said.


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Sounds like a perfect fit for this university.


9

I know a married couple who both retired roughly 10 years ago from the UC system . One was employed in administration the other as professor of a occupation in which he had not ever been employed in …..between the 2 of them they receive $355k in retirement pension each year for the last 10 years . A janitor in some locations of the UC system receive over $200k in pay , most are employed in the SF bay area ….


7

If you are considered a left elite then you can do wrong and get rewarded for it. The one thing consistent with the left is they stay together even if one of them does wrong, they very seldom eat their own unless it benefits them all more


2

Students should refuse to take his classes and demand that in the absence of another instructor Cal Poly should pay for students to take the equivalent classes online at another university like Arizona State and transfer the credits. In private employment if your behavior is unpalatable to your customers you must be let go so that the company does not lose business.


14

Can’t say that I don’t blame him for wanting to move here, even giving up a 3.5 percent per year pension formula by accepting whatever a professor’s pension formula is. I do not know anything about the cases he dealt with although in this county bad behavior has been very acceptable to many voters. We’ll see if this holds true in November?


1

With this and all overpriced administration any surprise tuition costs are so high?


33

Not quite the old adage of F _ _ K up and move up, but sort of. Oh, the shitshow that is higher education in this country.


10

The biggest insult….he will teach “leadership and public policy.”

Cal Poly should offer him a position in the dairy unit spreading effluent from the cattle ponds.


71

Unbelievable and so wrong.


72
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