Fresno State president ousts five foundation board members in shake-up

Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval declined to reappoint five longtime Fresno State Foundation board members when their four-year terms expired Tuesday, including board chair Vinci Ricchiuti, in a sharp shake-up at the nonprofit that oversees more than $315 million tied to the university. The move puts control of a major public-facing pool of Fresno State money back in the spotlight at a time when the foundation’s governance practices are under close scrutiny.

The Fresno State Foundation was created in 1931 as a nonprofit public benefit corporation, and California State University says it manages sponsored research grants and contracts, gifts and endowments, scholarship and loan accounts, and campus program trust accounts. Its bylaws set staggered four-year terms for governors and give the Fresno State president, in consultation with the board chair and governance committee, a formal role in deciding whether to recommend reelection when a term expires.

That structure now matters because the foundation has faced questions about how much continuity is too much. The foundation eliminated term limits in 2022 and does not rotate officers the way many other CSU foundations do. Four board members have served more than 20 years, and 11 others have served 10 years or more, a level of longevity that critics have pointed to as the board has come under public scrutiny over transparency and oversight.

A January 8, 2026 CSU advisory report, prompted by the foundation’s misinterpretation of the Nonprofit Integrity Act of 2004, found significant weaknesses in governance and financial controls that increased exposure to financial misstatement, fraud and operational inefficiencies. The report identified 46 governance and operational deficiencies, including cases where the same person both prepared and approved multimillion-dollar wire transfers and large ACH payments. It also said limits in the financial system and chart of accounts made it harder to produce timely, reliable fund-level reporting. The review did not find evidence of malfeasance.

Fresno State said the university and foundation submitted an implementation plan that the CSU Chancellor’s Office formally approved in February 2026. Public review materials say the findings were grouped into 20 categories across six priority areas, with some reforms completed or awaiting approval in spring 2026 and other targets stretching into summer and fall 2026 and spring 2027.

Fresno State says the foundation has grown its endowment to nearly $260 million and distributes millions of dollars each year for academic programs, scholarships, research, student employment and faculty excellence. That makes the board transition more than an internal personnel dispute: it affects how Fresno State’s private support is governed, who watches it and how quickly the foundation moves toward more regular turnover.