Fresno State president Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval holds forum amid calls for his resignation

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno State faculty and staff heard from university president Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval during an open forum on Thursday.

He addressed a recent petition calling for his resignation during the previously scheduled event.

Action News cameras were not allowed inside the forum, but those we spoke with after the meeting said the president was transparent regarding the petition and how he started the meeting.

"He has always been transparent, and he has always asked for input and feedback from the campus community," said Fresno State Associate Controller Josie Almeida.

The petition includes logos for the California State University Employees Union and the California Faculty Association.

It claims Jiménez-Sandoval has demonstrated poor stewardship of Fresno State.

A CFA spokesperson told Action News they did not send it to their members.

However, a CSUEU member says this came from staff in Sacramento, and members on campus were not consulted.

"They specifically did this with a handful of people and purposefully did not speak to the greater good of our staff members and of the 600 and something CSUEU union members," said CSUEU member Belinda Munoz.

We contacted union leaders about those claims and received a statement re-iterating the petition.

Statement from CSUEU Fresno Chapter President Fortunato "Fortune" Garcia:

CSU Staff at Fresno State have significant issues with how the campus is being managed and how resources are used to help promote students' academic success.

Based on our members' concerns, we initiated a petition directed at the campus President.

Workers' issues are real, and they affect student success at Fresno State.

• Inadequate staff affects student learning
• Mismanagement of University resources means less funding for vital programs

We call on President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval to demonstrate that he recognizes the valuable services frontline staff provide our campus.

The leaders of Fresno State's Associated Students, Incorporated, also said they were not consulted and did not endorse the petition.

Following the forum, they had nothing but praise for the work Jiménez-Sandoval has done for the university.

"We've seen at least throughout my four years at Fresno State that President Sandoval consistently shows up for students' needs, concerns, even just student hobbies," said Associated Students Inc. executive vice president Frederick Lisitsa.

"I think if you polled the students, you would find out that the president is like the people's president," said Associated Students Inc. president Faith Van Hoven.

The ASI hosted its meeting Thursday afternoon for fellow students with the same goal of being transparent.

It's unclear where the petition goes from here.

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