A former San Francisco State University employee who oversaw the handling of discrimination and sexual misconduct cases alleged that the campus president and a state university system official attempted to interfere with an investigation into harassment allegations against a professor, saying The school did not act appropriately. investigate hundreds of allegations of irregularities.
In a 20-page complaint filed Wednesday against the campus and the California State University system, Heather Borlase said she was fired last summer after she launched an investigation into complaints from multiple Muslim students that a professor showed a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad in her Islamic studies class without prior notice. notice or reason.
Borlase alleged that San Francisco State President Lynn Mahoney and CSU Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Leora Freedman believed the professor's actions were protected by academic freedom and asked Borlase to stop the investigation. But Borlase said an investigation was necessary to determine whether the professor's actions constituted religious harassment. Visual depictions of Muhammad are considered offensive to many Muslims.
Freedman wanted to offer time “for the parties to reach an informal resolution,” according to the complaint, and took the case from Borlase in April 2023. About a week later, after the case faced public criticism from a outside advocacy group, Borlase said she was placed on administrative leave and learned months later that she would not be reinstated to her job. According to the complaint, she was told the decision was “in the best interest of the university.”
The university said “the change was not made to influence the outcome of any investigation.”
“Like all CSU campuses, SF State takes seriously its responsibility to provide students and employees with a safe learning and working environment,” said Director of Communications Bobby King. “Different leadership was desired to lead the work in the department, which was already happening to improve processes and results.”
Borlase claimed that he inherited more than 400 unresolved cases of harassment, misconduct and discrimination when he began 2021 and that he had received criticism from university officials who “expressed concern about the exposure” when he tried to address the reports.
According to the complaint, the university “encouraged her to work on only the most egregious cases involving current students or faculty. Ms. Borlase insisted that all cases comply.”
In one case, an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against a professor found that people were discouraged from coming forward with such accusations. But Borlase said she was discouraged from taking corrective action that could put the university “in a negative position,” according to the complaint.
In another case, an investigation found that a campus administrator had racially harassed an employee, calling him “a runaway slave.” According to the complaint, Borlase was asked to “downplay the university's lack of action when concerns were first raised.”
“SF State's failure to respond in a timely manner to student and staff complaints, its interference with the integrity of investigations, and its scapegoating and termination of Ms. Borlase cannot be tolerated,” said Katherine Smith, one of the lawyers representing Borlase.
Borlase's concerns coincided with CSU's examination of its policies around Title IX (the federal ban on sex discrimination) following multiple accounts of inconsistencies in how university officials handled complaints of sexual misconduct and retaliation. At several of CSU's 23 campuses, from San Diego State University to California State University Maritime Academy, Times investigations found that students and employees lacked confidence in the Title IX process and often feared that their problems were ignored. A Times analysis of complaints from the 2021-2022 school year found that about 3% of more than 2,600 reports of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct were formally investigated.
“It is critical that students know that it is safe to come forward and, when they do, their complaints will be fairly investigated,” said Wendy Musell, another Borlase attorney.
Shortly before Borlase's firing last year, the law firm Cozen O'Connor shared a report with the CSU Board of Trustees and the university community that found flaws in the way CSU campuses collect data, widespread mistrust on the part of of students and employees in how irregularities are addressed and a low number of investigations.
A state audit found similar flaws. And in an effort to achieve broader accountability, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that would require the CSU system to disclose the outcome of sexual harassment cases and investigations.
CSU is the largest public four-year university system in the country. It has previously said it will make changes to its complaints handling and is hiring additional staff to improve its investigation process.
“Transforming culture is not easy or quick. It takes significant time and resources,” board president Wenda Fong told The Times last year.
