California State College paid $600,000 this yr to settle a declare with a Sonoma State provost who reported retaliation and sexual harassment allegations involving the campus president and her husband, based on data within the case obtained by The Occasions.
Lisa Vollendorf, then the college’s provost,reported to Cal State system officers that a number of girls alleged they had been sexually harassed by Patrick McCallum, a distinguished larger schooling lobbyist who's married to Sonoma State College President Judy Sakaki, a authorized declare filed with Cal State reveals.
Although not a CSU worker, McCallum is an official college volunteer who participates in campus occasions together with his spouse. Vollendorf is a longtime higher-education administrator and was not too long ago appointed as president of SUNY Empire State School in New York.
Vollendorf stated she adopted system coverage requiring her to report the allegations to the Cal State chancellor’s workplace in Lengthy Seaside, prompting retaliation from Sakaki, her boss, based on the declare, which The Occasions obtained with different case paperwork beneath a California Public Information Act request. The previous provost accused Cal State in her declare of failing to conduct a full-fledged investigation and doing solely “very cursory and preliminary interviews.”
Vollendorf stated she instructed the final counsel in December 2018 that three girls — two of them campus workers — alleged McCallum talked about his intercourse life, ran his fingers by one lady’s hair after which made “inappropriate private feedback” about her look throughout a celebration at his home, based on settlement data the provost’s lawyer filed with system officers. The ladies, who reported the accusations to Vollendorf as a result of they labored for her or knew her, described the conduct as “creepy,” “disgusting” and “pervy,” the data stated.
The disclosures concerning the allegations and settlement come because the nation’s largest four-year public college system is grappling with the way it investigates and resolves sexual harassment and workforce retaliation complaints.
Pressed for details about the case, Cal State officers acknowledged they didn't launch a proper investigation into the intercourse harassment claims and as an alternative spoke to Sakaki concerning the accusations towards her husband. CSU officers stated in a press release that a Title IX officer performed a overview of the allegations and concluded “the reported conduct may not rise to the extent of sexual harassment as outlined by college coverage” if the accusations had been investigated and substantiated. The CSU’s definition of sexual harassment consists of “unwelcome verbal, nonverbal or bodily conduct of a sexual nature.” Officers denied Vollendorf was subjected to retaliation.
CSU officers offered transient summaries, some single sentences, from three individuals contacted by the systemwide Title IX officer. One individual, an obvious witness, reported seeing no misbehavior, a second individual stated she skilled no harassment and a 3rd requested that McCallum “be made conscious of the professionalism and discretion anticipated of a president’s partner.” Cal State officers stated the three individuals declined to proceed with a proper investigation, which might have required statements with their names.
Interviews with complainants and witnesses over a number of weeks reveal a extra nuanced image of what occurred.
Title IX consultants interviewed by The Occasions stated it’s not unusual for a complainant to chorus from going ahead in an investigation, usually attributable to fears of retaliation or normal uncertainty. Consultants stated the interviewer ought to totally educate the complainant on the method to alleviate issues.
In a press release, Sakaki denied retaliating towards Vollendorf, saying the accusations “are completely with out foundation.”
“Sexual harassment, discrimination, or retaliation in any type are unacceptable on our campus,” Sakaki stated. “I used to be shocked and saddened to study of the allegations towards my partner,” she added, saying that “he denies partaking in any inappropriate conduct.”
Vollendorf declined to debate particulars of her allegations however offered a press release saying that leaders in larger schooling have an obligation to do “the suitable factor even when it’s the arduous factor.”
“I sincerely hope that broader data of tales like these leads to systemic change so no person is ever once more subjected to the remedy I witnessed, reported, and skilled,” she stated.
The settlement data additionally embody details about different girls who staffed occasions and had been reassigned to keep away from McCallum.
A former Sonoma State interim vice chairman instructed The Occasions that he modified schedules to forestall girls on his staff from working with McCallum throughout campus occasions. “There have been complaints of inappropriate touching and feedback,” stated Gordon McDougall, who directed Sonoma State’s College Development Division, which oversees fundraising. “The ladies felt uncomfortable.”
He stated that he reported the allegations to the CSU normal counsel throughout a phone dialog in early 2019 however that system headquarters in Lengthy Seaside by no means adopted up with him.
The furor over how CSU handles related claims led Chancellor Joseph I. Castro to resign in February amid criticism that he mishandled sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation allegations involving a senior campus official when he was president of Fresno State College. As a part of a settlement in that case, the campus’ former vice chairman, who was accused of harassment, obtained $260,000 and a robust letter of advice from Castro.
The settlement, which was approved by former Chancellor Timothy P. White, sparked public outrage and prompted trustees who oversee the system to order a overview of how Title IX complaints are dealt with at every of the 23 campuses.
Critics have stated that senior directors throughout the system have an excessive amount of leeway in figuring out whether or not instances are formally investigated and settle accusations with quiet payouts to keep away from adverse public response.
The accusations at Sonoma State had been made because the #MeToo motion heightened consciousness about sexual assault and harassment on school campuses throughout the nation.
Vollendorf stated that one lady instructed her “Mr. McCallum had ‘come onto her’ ” whereas she was working at a college occasion and that he “requested her private and uncomfortable questions on her life and was overly and persistently flirtatious,” based on the settlement data.
The data stated the identical lady accused McCallum of harassing her once more at one other celebration the place he “put his arms by the staff hair when he greeted her” and made “inappropriate private feedback concerning the worker’s look and in addition grabbed the worker by the arm so she was compelled to remain near him.”
In interviews with The Occasions, one of many girls who reported alleged sexual harassment to Vollendorf stated she was warned about McCallum by girls who labored on the fundraising staff.
The girl, who works on campus and requested to not be named for concern of retaliation, alleged McCallum stood inappropriately near her for hours at one campus occasion. At one other, she stated, he used his fingers to softly brush her hair off her brow — a kind of intimate contact that she believed crossed a line.
The girl stated that she spoke to a Title IX officer from the chancellor’s workplace and that she initially declined to file a proper grievance as a result of she revered Sakaki and didn’t need her to be unfairly tarnished by an investigation.
As she continued talking with the Title IX officer, the girl stated, she grew to become involved as a result of there have been no ensures she can be protected towards retaliation if she determined to press ahead with an investigation.
Afterward, the girl instructed The Occasions, she was excluded from a number of college dinners hosted by the president and her husband, which she sometimes would attend. She perceived that as retaliation and reported the data in late 2019 to the CSU Title IX officer assigned to the case, based on emails reviewed by The Occasions.
The girl instructed The Occasions that she stopped pursuing the matter after the system closed campuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
One other complainant who spoke with The Occasions on the situation of anonymity stated that in her interview with a CSU official, she mentioned McCallum’s conduct, calling feedback he made “creepy.” One instance she shared was when he wasn’t granted a request, he stated, “Does it matter if I’m sleeping with the president?”
The girl didn’t characterize the feedback as harassment on the time — he hadn’t touched her, she stated. She additionally believed she was an insignificant participant and was apprehensive for her job. She recalled being instructed that McCallum would have entry to the transcript of the interview, which she took to imply that her feedback wouldn't stay confidential.
“He’s the president’s husband — who would say something?” she stated.
Sooner or later, she stated, McCallum’s conduct modified. He was extra restrained, she stated, and he or she suspected he had been spoken to.
McCallum, who heads the McCallum Group lobbying agency, is a longtime neighborhood school lobbyist. He beforehand served as govt director for the School Assn. of California Group Faculties and as a marketing consultant to the Meeting Increased Training Committee. In 2007, he based the School and Company Mind Belief, a consultancy group for neighborhood schools, universities and technical schools.
McCallum and Sakaki made the information after they misplaced their Santa Rosa home within the 2017 Tubbs fireplace, which killed 22 individuals and destroyed greater than 5,000 houses. In recent times, McCallum has additionally advocated for fellow wildfire victims.
At Sonoma State, McCallum participated in employees conferences relating to methods to boost non-public donations for the college, based on McDougall, the previous interim vice chairman who oversaw fundraising from 2018 till his retirement in 2020.
In 2019, McDougall stated, he discovered of accusations about McCallum from girls throughout conversations about staffing campus occasions.
“I seen there was a variety of discomfort about working with him,” McDougall stated, including that the emotions had been “fairly common” among the many girls on his employees.
In accordance with McDougall, the ladies alleged situations of inappropriate touching and sexual feedback. “I didn’t get into very deep conversations about what occurred,” he stated. “I used to be very uncomfortable.”
McDougall stated he shared what the ladies had instructed him with Vice President Joyce Lopes, who oversaw sexual harassment and workforce investigations on campus. Lopes, who's now not at Sonoma State, confirmed to The Occasions that McDougall spoke to her and that she instructed him that Sonoma State officers had been in touch with the chancellor’s workplace about related claims.
McDougall stated he referred to as the chancellor’s workplace and later instructed Common Counsel Andrew Jones that the ladies on employees had “instructed me concerning the touching and feedback of a sexual nature.”
In accordance with her declare and settlement data, Vollendorf additionally reported “particulars of the allegations” to Jones and gave him the names of the three girls who had alleged being sexually harassed in addition to an electronic mail from one accusing McCallum of speaking about his “great intercourse life.” She additionally gave Jones the names of three workers who stated they witnessed inappropriate conduct.
Jones stated he would ask a Title IX officer to “look into these complaints,” based on the data. Vollendorf stated she voiced concern over the dearth of an out of doors investigation, citing a 2018 incident on the College of Wisconsin-Whitewater through which the chancellor resigned amid accusations that she didn't take motion after her husband was accused of sexually harassing girls on campus.
In an electronic mail to Occasions reporters, Jones acknowledged “listening to from campus directors about issues that they had heard from others on campus.” He stated he knowledgeable then-Chancellor White and referred the matter to the systemwide Title IX officer, as required by system coverage.
By not launching a proper investigation, Vollendorf alleged in her declare, “the CSU didn't comply with its insurance policies associated to harassment and discrimination.”
Cal State officers stated the Title IX officer is liable for deciding whether or not a proper investigation needs to be performed.
Title IX consultants instructed The Occasions that harassment investigations are nuanced and contain many components, together with the requests of the complainants, validity of the complaints and potential injury to the accused individual’s repute.
CSU coverage states that if a complainant requests that no investigation happens, officers should weigh a number of components to evaluate the request towards an obligation to security, together with whether or not “there's a energy imbalance between the Complainant and Respondent.”
In accordance with Vollendorf’s declare, White and CSU Deputy Common Counsel Leora Freedman spoke to Sakaki in 2019 about her husband’s conduct. Of their assertion, system officers acknowledged that White and a system lawyer met with Sakaki “in order that the issues could possibly be addressed promptly.” Since then, no related complaints about McCallum have been reported to the chancellor’s workplace or Sonoma State’s Title IX workplace, the assertion stated.
In her declare, Vollendorf alleged that the dialogue prompted “a marketing campaign of retaliation” by Sakaki. Vollendorf, who had beforehand obtained an exemplary job efficiency overview from Sakaki, accused the president of “hostile and retaliatory conduct.”
The president made defamatory statements about Vollendorf, restricted her tasks and refused to supply a beforehand agreed-upon letter of advice to assist advance her larger schooling profession, based on the declare.
“All through all of it,” the declare stated, “the CSU Chancellor’s Workplace was constantly apprised of the retaliatory conduct.”
In late October 2021, former CSU Vice Chancellor Larry Salinas instructed The Occasions, the accusations towards Sakaki and her husband got here up throughout a debriefing with Castro, the previous chancellor, following a go to that they had made to Sonoma State as a part of a systemwide tour of campuses. Castro stated that he had mentioned terminating the president throughout a closed session of the Board of Trustees, based on Salinas. However there was pushback from among the board members, he stated.
Cal State officers acknowledged that trustees had been briefed concerning the case in October and instructed of the settlement in January.
Vollendorf stepped down from her place at Sonoma State in June 2020 and for a time labored as a particular assistant assigned to the chancellor’s workplace in Lengthy Seaside, based on data and interviews.
In January, a settlement was finalized amongst Vollendorf, the Cal State system and Sakaki and her husband. The settlement reveals that the previous provost was paid $500,000 and that her lawyer obtained $100,000.
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