News Update

Ex-CSU chancellor starts new position at Cal Poly SLO

Embattled former CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro will appear in the classroom again at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Tuesday.

Castro was granted retreat rights, or the ability for a university administrator to “retreat” to a faculty position, in September 2020 shortly after he became chancellor of the 23-campus system. Castro resigned in February 2022 amid an outcry from students and faculty over how he handled sexual harassment complaints while he was president of Fresno State University from 2013 to 2020.

In September, Castro told EdSource that he looked forward to sharing the “many lessons” he learned about how he handled the complaints to “assist higher education leaders” who face similar matters.

According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, Castro will teach Business 476, Leading Social Innovation in Organizations. So far, only 11 students have signed up for the first class and eight for the second. Each class has space for 40 students, according to the newspaper.

Multiple faculty groups have protested Castro’s ability to retreat to a tenured professor position. The Academic Senate at Cal Poly passed a resolution asking Castro not to use his retreat rights. The Academic Senate at Fresno State declared a lack of confidence in Castro joining the faculty.