advisory review<\/a> of key processes at the foundation that was conducted by the CSU chancellor\u2019s office and released in January. The foundation was found to have glaring weaknesses in its governance and operations that impacted its financial control environment.<\/p>\nIn his letter, Jim\u00e9nez-Sandoval did not delve deeply into findings from that review, but some of the findings of the 32-page report make it difficult to square up with the return of long-time board members.<\/p>\n
The Fresno State Foundation manages an endowment of around $250 million, third largest in the CSU system, as well as $65 million in post-award research grants.<\/p>\n
Yet, several of its core financial processes including fund balance reconciliations and endowment income distributions relied on manual practices that were outdated and no longer met the needs of an organization of its size, according to the CSU report from the advisory review. Overall, the report flagged 46 areas in governance, operation and financial practices that were in need of remediation.<\/p>\n
Critical risks were identified in banking practices and the segregation of duties, with the same individual allowed to both prepare and approve multi-million dollar wire transfers and large electronic payments. When combined with infrequent bank reconciliations, which in some cases were performed by that same individual, significant opportunities were created for unauthorized or undetected activity, according to the report.<\/p>\n
The limited board and board leadership turnover, coupled with minimal university representation and outdated governing documents, reduced transparency and resulted in a misalignment with the university\u2019s strategic priorities, the CSU report states.<\/p>\n
The Fresno State president met with Ricchiuti, the chair, on May 7 to discuss board governors whose terms were expiring at the end of June and the areas for reform identified by the CSU report, according to the president\u2019s letter to the governance committee.<\/p>\n
A meeting to further consult with the governance committee was scheduled for May 19, but it was canceled because only one committee member was available to attend. Jim\u00e9nez-Sandoval instead shared his thoughts on the direction the board would take with the committee later that day by email, and offered the opportunity to meet with committee members individually.<\/p>\n
He said in the letter that while continuity, institutional memory, and experienced leadership benefit the foundation, board renewal is important to its health and effectiveness. Turnover creates opportunities for expanded networks, fresh perspectives and alignment with the university\u2019s strategic priorities, it said.<\/p>\n
The foundation partnership agreement and board roles and responsibilities also reinforce the importance of alignment between foundation governance and the university\u2019s strategic direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernors are expected to help ensure that the work of the foundation is aligned with the university\u2019s strategic plan, accept fiduciary responsibilities, support the campus president, senior administrators, and foundation staff, and conduct the board\u2019s business in an exemplary fashion,\u201d Jim\u00e9nez-Sandoval wrote to the committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese expectations are especially important during a period in which the university is implementing governance recommendations, responding to Chancellor\u2019s Office attention, and clarifying the Foundation\u2019s future structure and practices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricchiuti, governance committee chair George Soares and others on the board voiced objections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need action to note this, that the president, Sa\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez-Sandoval, made a sole decision to not reappoint those members whose terms end June 30,\u201d Ricchiuti said, at a meeting of the governance committee one day before the full board met for the final time in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoard chair does not concur, but respectfully knows that is his prerogative \u2026 There should be a motion, or something to that effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite objections, Ricchiuti and the others from the foundation board at the end of terms and had served nine or more years were out.<\/p>\n
Jim\u00e9nez-Sandoval told the governance committee in the letter that his determination to move Ricchiuti and the other board members along is not to suggest they had failed to serve with dedication. The university, he wrote, is deeply grateful for their years of service, leadership and philanthropy. He said he remained committed to handling the board transition with respect, gratitude and care.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever,\u201d he wrote to the governance committee, \u201cthe bylaw standard is not limited to whether a Governor has served honorably in the past. It asks whether, upon expiration of the current term and after considering all relevant matters, it is in the best interest of the Corporation to recommend reelection.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the advisory review, the Chancellor\u2019s Office focus, the need to demonstrate implementation of term limit expectations, and the importance of board renewal and succession, I have determined that recommending reelection of these Governors would not be in the best interest of the Corporation at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 12:38 PM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresno State President Sa\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez-Sandoval, right, thanks chairperson Vinci Ricchiuti for her work with the foundation as she…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-390387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Fresno](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783505065_158_FRS_EPZ_FS_FOUNDATION_06.JPG\" "\\"Fresno")
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