This story has been updated.
Chair of the Board of Regents for Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, Marty Guay, resigned abruptly Monday, just days after the release of a series of documents that showed former CSCU Interim Chancellor John Maduko allegedly violated the system’s harassment policy. The documents had raised concerns about Guay’s actions, as well.
Guay said in a statement that he planned to begin a yearlong fellowship in August with the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University.
“While I had originally planned to transition from my role as chair later this year, I have decided now is the right time to step aside and allow the Board and the CSCU system to move forward focused on the important work ahead,” Guay said.
Guay’s resignation follows the departure of the CSCU interim chancellor in April, who stepped down after learning he was the subject of a complaint that was being investigated.
Documents released last week by the CSCU system revealed that the complaint included allegations that Maduko had sent text messages and made comments, often of a sexual nature, to a female employee of the CSCU system over the course of two years.
[RELATED: CSCU chancellor quit after sexual harassment complaint]
Guay also appeared in the complainant’s statement. The employee said she had a conversation with Guay in April of 2025, in which Guay mentioned that he’d once had an employee fired who’d made a sexual harassment complaint against a colleague. The complainant said it felt like the comment was “a threat or a test” for her.
While she claimed she spoke to General Counsel Karen Buffkin about the conversation, she said she wasn’t aware of any action being taken to address it, the documents state.
Earlier this month, the CSCU Board of Regents voted to hire an outside consulting firm to conduct an independent review of Maduko’s behavior and whether the CSCU system responded appropriately when the allegations were brought forward.
“The Board of Regents and I are in full support of the independent review process currently underway, and I am confident it will be conducted thoroughly and transparently,” Guay said.
Gov. Ned Lamont, who appointed Guay, said the investigation needed to be conducted “expeditiously and with complete transparency.”
In a statement Monday, the governor said, “Anyone found to have failed to follow proper processes and procedures should expect to face the appropriate consequences. I am confident this board will handle that investigation with seriousness and integrity, and I am committed to ensuring that CSCU has the leadership it needs to honor its obligations both to this matter as well as its ongoing work serving the CSCU students and community.”
On Sunday, in an interview with WTNH, Lamont said Guay had been “a strong leader for the system.” He touted increased enrollment at the community colleges and the rollout of “debt-free community college.”
Democratic members of the state legislature’s Higher Education Committee said in a joint statement that they were “deeply troubled” by the claims made about Maduko and reports that the Board of Regents failed to take action. They expressed alarm at the claim that Guay had allegedly fired an employee who had reported harassment.
“While Dr. Maduko’s departure was a vital first step, it does not wipe away the widespread institutional negligence,” the statement read. “It is time for a comprehensive fresh start and a clean slate at CSCU. We insist on institutional accountability and a swift transition to leadership that will unconditionally defend every worker’s right to a safe, secure workplace.”
Maduko was appointed interim CSCU chancellor last June after the previous Chancellor Terrence Cheng stepped down in the wake of an investigation by CT Insider and an audit from the comptroller’s office that found Cheng had charged the university system for expensive meals and chauffeured rides.
The audit, released in December 2024, found that Cheng and a number of other campus presidents had used state funds to pay for things like dry cleaning, expensive meals and, in one case, a ticket to a Yale University football game.
On Monday, Republicans in the state Senate sent a letter to Lamont raising concerns about the CSCU system and asking whether Lamont had spoken to Guay and Buffkin, the newly appointed interim chancellor, about the allegations against them that were contained in the report released last Friday.
They also questioned how the firm charged with conducting the independent review would be selected, and whether Maduko was receiving any “taxpayer-funded income.”
“We still have unanswered questions,” Sen. Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, said in a statement on Monday. “Gov. Lamont owns the ongoing CSCU mess, and we await the answers we are seeking.”
Sam Norton, communications director for the CSCU system, said that Maduko would receive his final paycheck on May 21 and be paid for any unused vacation time. She said that there were no other payments connected to his resignation.
Correction:
An earlier version of this story misreported that the individual who filed a complaint against John Maduko alleged in the complaint that Marty Guay told her he once had an employee fired who had made a sexual harassment complaint against him. In fact, that complaint was made against one of Guay’s colleagues, according to the allegations in the complaint brought against Maduko.
