Every member of our Fresno State family deserves a safe and respectful learning and working environment without fear or retaliation
Dear Faculty and Staff,
While much of our work of late has been devoted to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to keep a pulse on the mental health of the campus community, along with other issues that may arise. In recent days, you have heard about events that took place during Chancellor Joseph I. Castro’s tenure. You can read the Chancellor’s message, which he wrote in response to a USA Today article detailing sexual harassment and misconduct accusations launched against former Vice President Frank Lamas, who departed Fresno State in 2020.
The details of these events have been unsettling, and I want to emphasize unequivocally that Dr. Lamas’ conduct described in the allegations was unacceptable and inexcusable, and goes against the values we hold most dear as a campus community.
My primary focus right now is to ensure a safe and respectful environment for every member of our community. As your president, I am deeply hurt that members of our community suffered greatly under Dr. Lamas’ leadership — no one should have to experience such inappropriate behavior. I want to reassure you that I am committed to building a culture of inclusivity, transparency and accountability so that we, at Fresno State, can nurture your trust and best support your professional success.
Every member of our Fresno State family deserves a safe and respectful learning and working environment without fear or retaliation. While these recent revelations are deeply disturbing, I want to assure you that I am dedicated to leading us forward as a campus community of which we can all be proud.
Again, no one should ever fear that by speaking up they will face retaliation. I pledge to listen to the needs of the campus community, to lead in creating a culture of support and to do what is necessary to keep this campus environment safe and healthy for the sake of all of our employees and students.
We will continue to strengthen our existing community partnerships to enrich our current resources and we look forward to sharing updates as they become available. I understand that reaching out and getting support can be difficult, but there is help available.
Resources:
I sincerely appreciate and want to thank everyone who has personally contacted me in the past few days to voice their concerns. I especially appreciate the meeting I had with the Division of Student Affairs last Friday. I heard firsthand the pain and distrust that many of you are experiencing right now, and I want you to know that I believe you and feel your pain. As your campus president, it is my responsibility to protect our Fresno State community from such actions and behaviors and to ensure that something like this never happens again. Know that I will always listen. I also encourage you to access the resources listed above if you need additional support.
In the following weeks we will retain an outside consulting firm with the knowledge and expertise to coordinate with a task force comprised of staff, students, and faculty and undertake to:
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Assess the current policies, procedures, training and support systems concerning Title IX, harassment and discrimination.
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Conduct focus groups (as well as other means of obtaining direct feedback) with the campus community.
- Guide us with expert advice on a plan that improves the overall credibility of our systemwide and institutional processes and procedures by empowering individuals with information on the process, their rights and support systems available, in order to alleviate fear of retaliation or retribution — even if their concern involves a senior administrator.
As always, I appreciate your passion for and thoughtful commitment to the success of our mission: to empower every student for success.
Sincerely Yours,
Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval
President
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