SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras to step down amid controversial comments in Cuomo scandal

ALBANY - SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said Thursday he will step down Jan. 14 amid growing calls for his resignation after he made incendiary comments about one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sexual harassment accusers prior to her accusations.

Malatras, a former top adviser to Cuomo who was appointed chancellor in August 2020, apologized in recent days after Attorney General Letitia James made public transcripts and evidence from a probe of the allegations against Cuomo, which led to his resignation earlier this year.

In a text exchange among Malatras and other Cuomo allies, they were shown to be mocking Lindsey Boylan, a former economic development official who was the first woman to publicly accuse Cuomo.

Malatras' comments led to increasing pressure for him to resign, even as the SUNY Board of Trustees had initially shown support for him and Gov. Kathy Hochul had refrained from calling for him to leave.

But Democratic lawmakers were calling more and more for his ouster, and they control the SUNY budget. And several SUNY organizations wanted him to go.

"Recent events surrounding me over the past week have become a distraction over the important work that needs to be accomplished as SUNY emerges from COVID-19," he wrote in a letter Thursday to the SUNY board.

"I believe deeply in an individual's ability to evolve, change and grow, but I also believe deeply in SUNY and would never want to be an impediment to its success."

Later Thursday, Hochul said she spoke with SUNY Board president Merryl Tisch on Wednesday night — a move that appeared to be the final blow to Malatras.

Hochul didn't disclose the details of the conversation, but told reporters: "It was an important conversation to have, and it was focused on the future of the SUNY system."

Boylan, after leaving the administration, tweeted in 2019 that working in politics had been “a toxic and demoralizing experience.”

She had yet to go public with her sexual harassment allegations against the governor.

“Let's release some of her cray emails,” Malatras texted, using slang for crazy.

After Boylan called him out in a series of tweets, Malatras texted to the group: “Malatras to Boylan: Go f__ yourself.”

The comments, along with other media reports of Malatras' previous workplace behavior, had fueled a growing list of state lawmakers and groups calling for Malatras to either step down or be dismissed by the SUNY Board of Trustees, which governs the 64-campus system.

Late Wednesday, roughly 30 Democratic Assembly members wrote to the board to demand Malatras' firing. So too have several senators, including Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Pelham, Westchester County, and Assembly Higher Education Committee chairwoman Deborah Glick.

Several SUNY groups had also called for Malatras to resign, including the system's Student Assembly and Faculty Council of Community Colleges.

"The voices of SUNY students have been heard," the Student Assembly said in a statement.

The Board of Trustees on Thursday thanked Malatras for his service. He earned $450,000 a year, records show.

"He has been a champion for our students, for access, for equity, and for deeper public investment in this great institution," it said in a statement. "The entire board expresses our gratitude for his dedication and leadership.”

Malatras told reporters Nov. 30 that he has had "strong disagreements" with colleagues at times during his lengthy tenure in state government, but said he should have used better language when talking about Boylan.

"Truth is, I’m not proud of the language I used. I conveyed my disagreement with my colleague, but I’m proud of collaborative work in government. I’ve been in government a long time," he told reporters after testifying at a legislative hearing on the system's COVID response.

Malatras' ascension to chancellor was met with skepticism at the time.

He was a close aide to Cuomo who moved to head Empire State College and then reemerged to help the governor's pandemic response after he was tapped by the SUNY board, which is led by Cuomo appointees, to head SUNY without a national search.

SUNY is expected to conduct a more broad search for its next chancellor.

Includes reporting by The Associated Press.

More: SUNY enrollment fell 20% over the past decade. What the chancellor might do to change it

Joseph Spector is the Government and Politics Editor for the USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Group, overseeing coverage in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. He can be reached at JSPECTOR@Gannett.com or followed on Twitter: @GannettAlbany

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This article originally appeared on New York State Team: SUNY chancellor to resign amid controversial comments