The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system is updating its policies and tightening background checks. The move is in response to an independent review that exposed failures in the handling of campus sexual harassment allegations. But a faculty union leader said the changes won't restore trust unless faculty and other employees have a greater voice in the system's leadership.
Ari Santiago, interim chair of the CSCU Board of Regents, which oversees all public state community colleges and universities except the University of Connecticut, said the board is taking steps to address problems identified in the review. Kari Swanson, chief of the Southern Connecticut State University faculty union, argued the board's approach does too little to address employees' concerns about accountability and representation.
Board points to policy changes and new background checks
The board recently approved updates to its Title IX policy, including clearer definitions and jurisdiction rules, updated sexual assault definitions linked to FBI reporting standards, and more explicit instructions about who must report allegations and to whom.
Santiago said the policy also clarifies the role of the Title IX coordinator and requires training for regents, with online modules that allow the system to track whether the training has been completed.
“Every policy, no matter how well written or how well updated, is only as good as people who understand what to do with it,” Santiago said.
He acknowledged that CSCU has gone through a series of leadership changes, but argued new leadership also presents an opportunity to improve the system.
“There's no question that when you have a lot of change in leadership, it creates a feeling of instability,” Santiago said. “That's just facts, and we can't hide from that.”
The board has also adopted a more extensive background-check process using protocols from the Connecticut State Police. Santiago said the system has already used the process for incoming Charter Oak State College President Ken Udas.
“Like I said, judge us by our actions,” Santiago said. “You can see us taking action as soon as we can.”
Faculty union calls for a greater voice
Swanson said the board's new public accountability dashboard may be useful to the press and public, but she questioned whether it would help rebuild trust among employees.
“Building trust with employees would require two-sided communication and listening,” Swanson said.
She said interim Chancellor Natalie Braswell has taken steps towards more open communication by meeting with union leaders at the state and campus levels. But Swanson argued that faculty and other employees have few opportunities to communicate with the Board of Regents.
Two of the board's voting members are students, Swanson noted, but none are faculty members. She said faculty should have voting representation on the board.
“We want to work with them,” she said.
Swanson also expressed concern that the response to top leadership failures could divert resources and energy from teaching and student services. She said additional mandatory training and bureaucracy can burden employees who were already following the rules.
Union leader says reforms come too late
Swanson said stronger background checks are necessary but do not address the system's handling of allegations against former interim Chancellor John Maduko.
“To a certain extent, it's too little and too late,” she said. “Significant harm has already been done, not just to the individuals in the case of former interim chancellor Maduko, but also to our system as a whole.”
Swanson argued that human resources staff on individual campuses would have handled the allegations differently and in compliance with policy and law. Asked why officials in the system's central leadership failed to follow the policy, she pointed to the independent report's finding that they either did not recall or did not recognize the policy's importance.
The Board of Regents is also reviewing its policy for interim leadership appointments. Santiago said the board hopes to make changes ahead of its December meeting.
