On May 28, 2026 CSU-AAUP members attended a meeting of the Board of Regents to express their disappointment and disgust at the recent scandals involving top management of the CSCU system.

The allegations of sexual harassment by our Chancellor John Maduko and of the inaction of CSCU General Counsel Karen Buffkin when made known of them, plus remarks by Board of Regents Chair Marty Guay that he once fired an employee who made similar accusations because he “knew” they were not true, show serious disfunction and policy violations by our leaders. This comes on top of the scandal surrounding our previous Chancellor, Terence Cheng, for violation of spending policies with expensive car services and $60 steaks.

SCSU Chapter President Kari Swanson told the BOR at their May 28 meeting that “this body and the leadership of this system have become a gross distraction from the work that we do every day to educate and support the future workforce of this state” and that “the purported leaders of this organization” must “do better.” CSU-AAUP Treasurer Brendan Cunningham even described the CSCU system as “in full crisis and chaos.”

With the resignation of Maduko and Guay, and Buffkin on administrative leave, a new interim leadership has been appointed – interim Chancellor Natalie Braswell and interim Board Chair Ari Santiago.

CSU-AAUP members are concerned that our new leaders appear to think that a change in the people at the top will repair the system. We believe, rather, that real structural change is necessary.

This also is the opinion of the faculty union of CT State Community College, the 4C’s, and of the senates of all four state universities and CT State, all of whom passed no confidence resolutions in the BOR last spring.

One structural concern is that our new leadership has no higher education experience. Interim Chair Santiago, for example, is the CEO of CompassMSP, “a technology services firm that helps businesses harness the power of technology to achieve their business goals.” Interim Chancellor Brasswell is a lawyer, once served as Comptroller, and most recently was Governor Lamont’s General Counsel.

CSU-AAUP members worry that our new leaders may be more committed to cost savings, back-office consolidation, and quick education fixes, than to their ultimate mission of serving the real needs of our students and helping faculty provide excellent education. As CSU-AAUP officer John O’Connor said at the BOR meeting, “the only way out of this cesspool is to focus on the classroom. Everything else is a distraction.” It would help if the BOR included more members who are experts in education, rather than just “corporate and entrepreneur types.”

CSU-AAUP President Louise Williams also insisted that the BOR must pay more attention to the faculty who do the actual work of educating students. She demanded that the BOR “make a commitment to really listen to the faculty voice this time. We have warned you about all the gimmicks and unworkable leadership plans in the past, which have proven to be failures. We have a knowledge and expertise about education, our disciplines, our students, and the work that is the real mission of higher education.”

Williams concluded: “We hope that this crisis can reset the relationship between our leaders and faculty.  We are more than willing to work co-operatively with you to do this.”

There is some hope. In August 2026, Governor Lamont told CSU-AAUP that he endorses the concept of increased faculty involvement in BOR decision making. He also welcomes CSU-AAUP suggestions about potential candidates for future appointments to the BOR. And he is committed to having a discussion with CSU-AAUP about the structure and governance of the BOR more broadly to really evaluate what works and what does not work.

We will let you know what happens, especially when searches for a permanent Chancellor and Board Chair begin.