'Not the way I wanted to retire:' Oxnard College president ends tenure amid investigation
Oxnard College President Luis Sanchez will retire at the end of January amid a months-long investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.
Sanchez confirmed in a text message late Tuesday afternoon that he submitted his retirement notice to Ventura County Community College District Chancellor Rick MacLennan on Oct. 5 and plans to retire on Jan. 31.
In a Wednesday interview, Sanchez, 68, said he made the decision because he'd "had it" with the ongoing investigation. "It's like being in purgatory," he said.
Former Chancellor Greg Gillespie put Sanchez on paid administrative leave on May 5, saying he expected the investigation to wrap up within 90 days. But on July 22, the district pushed its deadline back 45 days to Sept. 12 and said it would “likely be seeking further extensions."
Patti Blair, a district spokeswoman, said the district did not have "any information" on the investigation or on the district's plans to replace Sanchez. Oscar Cobian, the college vice president, is currently serving as acting president.
Sanchez said in a text that he had "concerns about how the district is handling this." Investigators, he said, requested an extension "through November," then again until early January to "investigate the concerns I raised."
The investigation covers two complaints of unlawful but not criminal "harassment, including on the basis of sex and gender" and one complaint of "misconduct pertaining to the Oxnard College Foundation," Gillespie said at the time.
Dianne McKay, president of the district’s board of trustees, said in August that the board was "largely in the dark" on the process as the "final arbiters" of disciplinary decisions. In a text Wednesday, she said she had "nothing new to share."
Sanchez, who moved to the role from Moorpark College in 2019, contested the allegations from the start, saying he believed they stem from conflict with Oxnard College Foundation officials over funding and scholarship policy disputes.
The president said he sparred with some foundation officials over funding for a college position leading into a March 28 foundation board meeting. At that meeting, foundation president Mike Barber accused Sanchez of “harassment” and “establishing a series of threats to the foundation," board minutes show.
Barber told The Star in July those allegations were under investigation by the district.
Sanchez said Wednesday he thought the complaints were part of a "strategy" to take focus off of the foundation's policies and "not to fight the issue on the merits."
He announced his pending retirement to colleagues in a letter Friday, saying he wanted to "bring the indignity of this 'process' to an end" and to "begin a new phase of life."
The letter alluded to allegations of sexual harassment that Sanchez said appeared to be connected to emails he'd sent to colleagues. It is unclear whether those allegations are tied to the foundation disputes.
"I certainly do not claim to be a candidate for sainthood," he wrote in the letter, saying he had "no doubt" some messages he'd sent during his district tenure had been "intemperate, prideful, coarse, flirtatious, or unduly harsh."
But, he said on Wednesday, "I don't believe any of them constitutes sexual harassment."
Sanchez said he'd initially planned to retire after last school year ended, but delayed the decision when he was placed on leave. Last week, though, he reached his limit.
"This is certainly not the way I wanted to retire," he said. "I don't feel like my work is finished."
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard College president retiring amid misconduct, harassment probe
