In summary
The Cal State chancellor has announced a new consultant role for the outgoing president of Cal State San Bernardino, Tomás Morales, who stepped down after he was sued for discrimination and harassment. Cal State settled his case as part of a $12 million settlement. For the next year, he will consult on international education programs, earning $343,920.
A California State University president who stepped down following a multi-million dollar settlement in a case accusing him of gender-based discrimination and harassment will earn a six-figure salary this coming year while he’s in between Cal State jobs.
During the transition period, former Cal State San Bernardino President Tomás Morales will provide international consulting for Cal State and work on strengthening the university’s international initiatives and global partnerships.
Morales announced his plans for departure last August and officially left the university at the end of this school year, joining an executive transition program in which he will be paid $343,920 over a year-long period starting this August. This salary is typical for Cal State executives in this program, said Cal State Chancellor Mildred Garcia, who announced Morales’ interim role at a board of trustees committee meeting Wednesday.
The board of trustees also unanimously granted Morales president emeritus status Wednesday afternoon, a title given as a gesture of appreciation for his service to the university.
Morales, and a former dean at San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus, Jake Zhu, were accused of gender-based discrimination, harassment and retaliation in a 2023 lawsuit that Cal State recently settled for $12 million. Clare Weber and Anissa Rogers, both former San Bernardino administrators, alleged they were instructed to resign after reporting a gender pay gap and discriminatory bullying to higher-ups.
Cal State continues to deny any wrongdoing and determined Morales to be in good standing, which renders him eligible for the transition program. Executives may become ineligible if the chancellor finds they violated university policy or engaged in serious misconduct.
Weber, who alleged she was fired weeks after asking Morales for a raise over email to bridge what she called a gender-based pay gap, said the ex-president should not remain in good standing.
Male Cal State employees “are protected when they behave badly, when they mistreat women, when they harass women, when they retaliate against them,” Weber said. “The tendency is to protect the university.”
Morales’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
Morales, new campus president still high earners
During the year-long transition period, Morales will be required to submit a monthly report to the chancellor chronicling “activities and milestones completed,” according to a board document.
“President Tomás Morales has served Cal State San Bernardino with distinction for 14 years, demonstrating exceptional leadership on behalf of the university and his students,” Garcia said at the meeting.
Morales will also provide guidance and support to incoming Cal State San Bernardino president S. Terri Gomez, Garcia said at the meeting. Gomez, the current provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Cal Poly Pomona, will assume the role on Aug. 3.
The committee approved a $426,916 annual salary, $60,000 annual housing allowance, and additional auto allowance of $1,000 per month for Gomez when she takes office.
Gomez made $338,255 in base pay in 2024, per the latest available data from Transparent California.
In 2024, 69 out of Cal State’s 118,843 employees earned a salary higher than $343,920, according to the State Controller’s Office. Morales’ salary was $527,834 in 2024 — the sixth-highest earning salary in the Cal State system, behind the chancellor and four other campus presidents. The average university salary in 2024 was $39,870, according to the office.
San Bernardino’s chapter of the California Faculty Association labor union asked Cal State to open an investigation into university administrators perpetuating gender discrimination and deny Morales executive transition benefits in a social media post yesterday.
Morales’ transition assignment will last from Aug. 3, 2026, to Aug. 2, 2027. During this period, Morales will transfer to the Management Personnel Plan, granting him the employment rights and benefits of university managers and supervisors, Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith said.
Bentley-Smith did not respond to a request for comment on what job Morales will take after the transition period, which should have been previously decided, according to a 2022 Board of Trustees agenda item outlining the policy.
“We are deeply grateful for President Morales’ outstanding leadership at Cal State San Bernardino and systemwide,” Garcia said at Wednesday’s meeting.
No members of the board of trustees committee made any comments or asked any questions after Garcia’s announcement.
Phoebe Huss is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.
