LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� The chancellor of California State University, the nation鈥檚 largest public university system, has resigned after accusations that he mishandled sexual misconduct allegations.
Joseph I. Castro resigned on Thursday, effective immediately, .
In a statement, Castro called it the most difficult decision of his professional life.
Castro fell under criticism after an investigation by USA TODAY published on Feb. 3 questioned the handling of misconduct complaints against Frank Lamas, former Fresno State vice president of student affairs, while Castro was the university鈥檚 president.
The article said that Lamas was the subject of a series of informal complaints including allegations beginning in 2014 that he improperly touched women, made sexist comments and harassed or retaliated against workers.
No action was taken against Lara until a formal complaint was filed in 2019, when he was barred from campus and later found to have violated a CSU harassment policy, according to documents cited by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Lara denied the allegations and appealed the finding. He retired in 2020 under a settlement agreement.
Steve Relyea, CSU鈥檚 executive vice chancellor and chief financial officer, will be acting chancellor until an interim chancellor has been named, the board said.
The Cal State system is the largest four-year public university system in the country with 23 campuses, 477,000 students and 56,000 faculty and staff, according to its website.
Castro, appointed in 2020, was the first Mexican American and native Californian to lead the CSU system.
鈥淚 have been honored to serve the California State University for more than eight years, including as its eighth chancellor, and the decision to resign is the most difficult of my professional life,鈥� Castro said in a statement. 鈥淲hile I disagree with many aspects of recent media reports and the ensuing commentary, it has become clear to me that resigning at this time is necessary so that the CSU can maintain its focus squarely on its educational mission and the impactful work yet to be done.鈥�
Robert Jablon, The Associated Press
