CSCU launches a way to track reforms after harassment scandal
The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system announced it will undertake a series of reforms following the resignation of former interim Chancellor John Maduko in April over sexual harassment allegations.
Those reforms are free to view on the system’s new accountability dashboard, CSCU in Focus, which CSCU spokesperson Sam Norton presented at the Board of Regents meeting on Thursday. So far, there are nine reforms listed, most of which deal with updating various CSCU policies and trainings regarding sexual harassment.
Norton said in a text that the office of interim chancellor Natalie Braswell and the Board of Regents developed the reforms.
The proposed changes are a direct response to a September report from Grand River Solutions, which reviewed CSCU’s handling of the allegations against Maduko. The review found CSCU had systematically failed to support individuals affected by Maduko’s behavior, lacked clear processes for addressing sexual harassment complaints and allowed private information to leak, enabling instances of possible retaliation.
As of Thursday afternoon, the system had already completed one of the nine reforms: adoption of discriminatory harassment, nondiscrimination and Title IX policy. That step was completed at the Board of Regents meeting itself.
The reforms yet to be completed include:
- Amending the Title IX policy to provide greater clarity to CSCU members
- New and amended executive appointment policies
- Reporting obligations training
- Sexual harassment prevention training
- Personnel actions in response to the Grand River Solutions report
- Developing onboarding and ongoing training for Board of Regents members
- Recurring system-wide communications on employee rights and responsibilities
- Governance and organizational reform to strengthen accountability and oversight
In a press release, Norton wrote CSCU expects to present a “formal policy codifying the enhanced vetting process” for leadership roles “by the end of the fall 2026 semester.”
CSCU faculty members in attendance at Thursday’s board meeting expressed deep dissatisfaction with how the system has been operating. Kari Swanson, an associate librarian at Southern CT State and the president of that school’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, expressed shock at the findings in the Grand River Solutions report.
“I and many other faculty members expect that those who were derelict in their responsibilities will be held accountable,” Swanson said, noting that, while the allegations against Maduko prompted some resignations, many others who held leadership roles at the time remain. That includes now-interim chair Ari Santiago, who first joined the Board of Regents in 2020.
At one point in the meeting, Colena Sesanker, a philosophy professor at Gateway Community College and chair of the board’s Faculty Advisory Committee, interrupted proceedings to read a faculty resolution calling on the system to halt its search for a new chancellor “until we have a better understanding of how the system works.”
Sesanker said she had to interrupt because the Faculty Advisory Committee does not have an agenda item for regular Board of Regents meetings. Santiago acknowledged her concerns but said they would still have to table the resolution because there was no agenda item.
During public comment, David Blitz, professor emeritus at Central Connecticut State University, reiterated Sesanker’s frustration and called for sweeping changes to CSCU.
“Major structural reforms are needed, perhaps including splitting the system into separate university and college systems,” Blitz said. Alternatively, he said, a “bottom-up approach based on the constituent universities and colleges” would be better than the system’s current top-down model.
Republican Sens. Stephen Harding, Henri Martin and Jeff Gordon released a brief statement following Thursday’s board meeting. The senators did not address the nine reforms listed but called on Braswell to appoint an independent party to investigate allegations against former Central Connecticut State University president Zulma Toro, who recently resigned.
Rep. Greg Haddad, D-Mansfield, who co-chairs the General Assembly Higher Education and Employment Committee, said the reforms were “a good first step” but said the legislature needs to reevaluate whether the leadership structure of CSCU, first created in 2011, is working.
“I am deeply skeptical that the changes that were adopted in 2011 have worked,” Haddad said. “I’m just not sure that that system has achieved any of its desired outcomes.”
He added, “I think that we should look very closely at what is going wrong there and come up with an alternative structure if we think that more modest reforms aren’t going to be effective.”
