Sen. Harding: “Another Lamont administration scandal”

Hartford Courant
May 15, 2026

The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities interim chancellor who resigned recently was under investigation for alleged sexual harassment of a coworker, which is documented in information the system released Friday.

Interim Chancellor O. John Maduko was put on administrative leave from his post as leader of the state’s higher education system that includes 12 community colleges, four state universities and Charter Oak State College on April 23. He resigned the next day. General Counsel Karen Buffkin is serving in his stead while a replacement is sought.

“Dr. Maduko began sending me sporadic text messages using standard text messaging. These messages included complimentary comments about my appearance, such as what I was wearing and observations about my walk, sometimes accompanied by “googly eye” emojis,” alleged the statement from a woman who was hired by disgraced former chancellor Terrence Cheng in April 2022, according to the documents.

The alleged text messages from Maduko increasingly include comments about the woman’s sexuality, as well as jokes, pictures and memes with sexual innuendo, according to the woman’s statements and screenshots of text messages in the report.

In one case, “Dr. Maduko stated, ‘I can’t look at you sometimes because of how incredible you are.’ He suggested we would be ‘a great partner in crime’ and stated ‘The neighbors would call the cops on us,’” the woman said.

In the woman’s statement, she notes attending a conference that Maduko was also attending during which “he repeatedly asked me to have dinner with him and to meet outside of scheduled events.”

Once Maduko was appointed interim chancellor following Cheng’s removal, Maduko’s conduct “escalated,” the woman said.

“During this period, Dr. Maduko continued to make comments about my appearance, my sexuality and my personal life. … He frequently referred to me as a “nun” and sent photos and memes of the desert in connection with these comments. At the time, I believed this behavior was related to my not engaging with or accepting his prior invitations. I responded on a limited basis to avoid escalating the situation and maintain a functional working relationship,” the woman’s statement said.

Text messages show Maduko referring to her as “nun like,” “Amish” and “a rated PG movie, wholesome and in bed by 8.” The woman said she was concerned about her job and hoped to avoid conflict that could impact her position.

He later referred to her “night life escapades” and that he would “crack that code of yours lol … Before you lose your muscle memory,” the documents show.

The woman said Maduko went on to increasingly make comments about their relationship, implying that it was more than “transactional” and that he cared about her. The woman said she “maintained a professional tone while also attempting to de-escalate what felt like an emotional moment and avoid upsetting him.”

In November 2025, the woman reported that Maduko sent “a photo of a large phallic statue from Atlanta and stated, ‘This is to scale.’” The woman said she attempted to deflect but he went on to say “I’ll have to prove it … File too big to send … Next time, I’ll need you to join me, to maximize these engagements,” screenshots of text messages show.

After Maduko allegedly made a comment in person about wanting a painting of the woman’s body, she told him “Human Resources would likely not approve,” according to the documents.

By the next month, the woman said Maduko’s behavior escalated yet again, including “repeated verbal and written references to his genitalia” and that when she tried to discourage him, “his behavior became more persistent.”

A photo is included in the report which the woman said was of Maduko, in his underwear.

According to the woman’s statement, she finally reported the alleged harassment during an exchange which “I understood … to be a direct solicitation for me to participate in or observe him engaging in a sexual act. I experienced this as highly distressing and inappropriate, and I felt unsafe and unable to continue managing the situation on my own.”

The woman’s statement indicates that she felt she could not report the sexual harassment because of a statement Board of Regents Chairman Marty Guay made that he had once fired a woman who reported sexual harassment.

“During that conversation, Mr. Guay, unprompted, shared that he had terminated a woman who had made a sexual harassment complaint against a colleague. He stated, “I didn’t care. Legal told me I’d have a problem, but I knew she was lying.” He appeared proud of that decision and highlighted how he never heard from legal again about it. Immediately after this conversation took place, I asked Adam if he had noted Mr. Guay’s comment and asked him whether I should take it as a threat, given that he had bragged about punishing a woman from coming forward about sexual harassment. Adam told me that he found Mr. Guay’s comments to be ‘unreal.’ We were both extremely concerned and confused.

“I was so unnerved by Mr. Guay’s comments that within a few days, I reported the conversation to General Counsel Karen Buffkin, along with Adam. She expressed confusion about the situation, and I highlighted how it felt like a threat or a test. She didn’t disagree. Adam also shared his concern and confusion about Mr. Guay’s comments. To my knowledge, no actions were taken in response to these concerns,” she said.

Guay addressed the CSCU community Friday to warn of the report’s contents.

“The Board has initiated an independent review of all known facts related to the former interim Chancellor’s conduct to determine whether there is any ongoing harm that can be addressed,” Guay’s statement said. “The review will also analyze our institutional response to the disclosure of alleged misconduct to determine whether it was consistent with internal and external best practices.”

“At the same time, I want to be clear: our priority remains unchanged. The safety and well-being of our campus communities is paramount, and our focus continues to be on supporting our students, faculty, and staff. … The Board is taking steps to ensure steady interim leadership during this transition and will move forward with a national search for a permanent chancellor later this year,” he said.

In a statement to the media, Sam Norton, spokesperson for the Board of Regents, said: “The safety of our students, faculty, and staff is our highest priority. The Board of Regents and CSCU take all complaints of sexual harassment seriously. We are committed to ensuring that every complaint is addressed through a fair, thorough, and impartial process. This type of alleged behavior is unacceptable and inconsistent with our values, and it will not be tolerated within our system.

“To ensure a full and impartial understanding of what occurred, the Board has initiated an independent review of all known facts related to the former interim chancellor’s conduct to determine whether there is any ongoing harm that can be addressed. The review will also analyze our institutional response to the disclosure of alleged misconduct to determine whether it was consistent with internal and external best practices. This review is a necessary step to ensure accountability and help prevent situations like this from occurring again.”

Maduko is the second in the chancellor position to leave under allegations of misconduct in the past year.

Cheng was removed from the position July 1, 2025, after an audit substantiated claims he had misused his state credit card, spending thousands on expensive meals including $60 steaks, $490 chauffeured rides and more.

Cheng was also given more than $21,000 to relocate from New York City to Connecticut but reportedly never moved.

Instead of resigning, the Board of Regents opted not to renew Cheng’s contract though a year was left on it, and appointed him to a yearlong position as an advisor to the board at more than $420,000.

Republicans at the time called for Cheng’s firing and condemned the board for keeping him on in a lucrative position.

House Republican leader Vincent Candelora Friday criticized both the board and Gov. Ned Lamont.

“The alleged misconduct detailed in the report is deeply disturbing, and the former interim chancellor will have questions to answer despite his resignation. But for those of us in the legislature, the bigger questions are about the Board of Regents. Not just whether internal controls were followed in this case, but whether this board has been effective in governing the system at all,” Candelora said. “It’s hard to call the board a success, and it would be equally hard for the Governor to argue he has held it accountable, particularly given that former system chancellor Terrence Cheng was shuffled into a no-show job and kept his $450,000 annual salary after his own spending scandal.

“These revelations, on the heels of the Cheng fiasco, are a profound embarrassment for the system and for our state, and they should be for the Governor and every board member as well. The crucial questions now are whether this board, in its current form, is the right structure to govern Connecticut’s state colleges and universities, and whether the Governor has the will to deliver change.”

Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding echoed Candelora’s statement, calling the report “another Lamont administration scandal.”

“Gov. Lamont today emphasized that this latest scandal involved an ‘Interim’ Chancellor, as if to again downplay or minimize it. Gov. Lamont expressed confidence in the Board of Regents, a board which seems to be in disarray. Gov. Lamont expressed confidence in how this complaint was handled. That is an open question,” Harding said. “Senate Republicans are demanding full transparency and accountability. The CSCU system is listless and leaderless. It is a crisis that Gov. Lamont owns.”

Lamont issued a joint statement with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, saying the administration has pushed for an investigation in the allegations.

“The allegations against the former Interim Chancellor are deeply disturbing, and while he chose to resign, it is not the end of this story. … We pushed for an independent investigation because the people of Connecticut deserve one, and transparency is not optional when public trust is on the line. That review must be thorough and impartial, examining not only the alleged conduct itself, but whether institutional leadership responded appropriately when someone came forward,” the statement said.

“Let us be unambiguous: when a person reports harassment, they deserve to be believed, heard, and protected — not dismissed or made to feel the institution values its reputation more than their safety. We expect every leader entrusted with oversight of our public higher education system to hold that conviction and act on it without being asked. When the investigation’s findings are made public, every person in a position of responsibility at CSCU will be held to the standard Connecticut’s students and staff deserve.”

Photo: Mark Mirko, Connecticut Public