The California State University system will pay $343,920 in compensation to the outgoing president of Cal State San Bernardino \u2014 who was named in a discrimination and harassment civil suit that CSU settled for $12 million \u2014 as part of his one-year \u201ctransition\u201d assignment, Chancellor Mildred Garcia announced Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Garcia praised President Tom\u00e1s Morales during a board of trustees meeting for his \u201coutstanding leadership at Cal State San Bernardino and systemwide.\u201d She did not mention the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
That suit, filed in 2023 by two former Cal State San Bernardino administrators, accused Morales of gender discrimination and alleged \u201cranting\u201d at female employees. It also alleged that he failed to approve salaries on-par with male colleagues and created an environment where harassment is \u201cstandard operating procedure.\u201d In addition to Morales, the suit named a former dean under him and the CSU Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n
The suit said<\/a> Morales\u2019 alleged actions were reported to then-interim Chancellor Jolene Koester, who \u201cdid absolutely nothing,\u201d and that the university allegedly retaliated against the administrators for raising concerns about Morales and the former dean. <\/p>\n Morales did not respond to emailed requests for comment. In court documents Morales, the former dean and the Board of Trustees denied all allegations in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n In a statement sent by CSU spokeswoman Amy Bentley-Smith, the university said the lawsuit against Morales and CSU \u201cdid not result in any findings against him individually, and litigation outcomes do not determine an employee\u2019s standing.\u201d <\/p>\n The statement said Morales remains in \u201cgood standing,\u201d a classification that makes him eligible for the new transition job.<\/p>\n The university system, which has been dogged by sexual harassment scandals<\/a> in recent years, settled the case in March<\/a>. In its statement, CSU denied all wrongdoing and said it \u201centered into the settlement to avoid further costs of litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n The transition plan for Morales has drawn outrage from faculty leadership groups.<\/p>\n Morales announced last year \u2014 before the suit was settled \u2014 that he was stepping down as president at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, CSU announced the appointment of a new president for the San Bernardino campus. Terri Gomez, a 27-year veteran in higher education and a lifelong resident of the Inland Empire, is currently the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Cal Poly Pomona, a university statement said. She is a first-generation college graduate who began her higher education journey at San Bernardino Valley College.<\/p>\n She joined Cal Poly Pomona in 1999 as a faculty member in the Department of Ethnic and Women\u2019s Studies. Her academic leadership roles at the university have included those of interim associate dean, associate vice president for Student Success, and associate provost for Student Success, Equity and Innovation, the statement said.<\/p>\n Morales, as part of his transition job, will be available to advise Gomez. He will also \u201cfocus on advancing the CSU\u2019s international engagement and strengthening global partnerships,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n She said Morales\u2019 pay was consistent with the university\u2019s \u201ctransition program\u201d for executives that CSU has said helps recruit for high-level posts in a competitive market and ensures institutional knowledge is retained once university leaders step down from their posts. <\/p>\n Andrew Friedman, a lawyer who represented the two former administrators in their lawsuit, called the payout to Morales a \u201ca real shame.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cCSU has a significant problem when it comes to dealing with gender discrimination and harassment and retaliation and we\u2019ve seen nothing to date to show that it\u2019s taking this issue seriously,\u201d said Friedman, a partner with Helmer Friedman LLP. <\/p>\n In a news release from May, the California Faculty Assn.\u2019s San Bernardino Chapter President Tiffany Jones said rewarding Morales would be a \u201cstunning failure of accountability and a direct betrayal of students, faculty, and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time when campuses face budget constraints, staffing shortages, and growing student needs, CSU resources must not be used to provide a financial cushion for failed leadership,\u201d Jones said in a news release.<\/p>\n The transition program at CSU began in 1981.<\/p>\n In 2022, the Times reported that CSU routinely approved transition plans<\/a> for former executives, including those accused of wrongdoing, that allowed them to collect salaries for a year for work such as providing \u201cadvice and counsel\u201d to CSU administrators, but did not track what officials do while being paid.<\/p>\n