SAN JOSE — A San Jose State University foundation board member as well as a university vice president have resigned following intense backlash stemming from comments allegedly made by the board member during a meeting earlier this year, the university president announced Friday.

Wanda Ginner, an alumna of SJSU’s Lucas College and Graduate School of Business, and a Tower Foundation board member since 2007, will no longer serve on the board. Rebecca Dukes, the university’s Vice President for University Advancement, also resigned, university President Mohammad Qayoumi announced in a statement Friday.

Ginner was the subject of a months-long investigation into derisive comments she reportedly made about Latino students and their families at a small February meeting that included Dukes, who also served as the foundation’s CEO, according to a complaint filed to the campus by someone at the meeting whose identity has not been revealed. Some students who heard about the complaint protested against Ginner earlier this week.

Ginner has flatly disputed the allegations, which claim she at one point said: ” ‘I contribute to this university because these little Latinas do not have the DNA to be successful.’ ”

Dukes came under fire after it was revealed in the complaint that she allegedly did not intervene during the meeting where the alleged comments were made.

Qayoumi said the university is still looking over results of an external investigation into the incident, but that the outcome of the external investigation will only be shared with Ginner and the complainant.

“Although many efforts are already underway, a great deal of work lies ahead as we seek to be the welcoming, inclusive community all Spartans aspire to,” Qayoumi said in a statement.

The comment spurred student protests at San Jose State on Monday, but Ginner has refuted she said anything of the kind and that she herself had asked for the February meeting to call attention to the perception that the school was “unfairly treating Hispanics” in admissions and financial aid.

In regards to Dukes’ departure, Qayoumi said he wished her well and highlighted some of her achievements while working at San Jose State, among them completing the university’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign, launching an integrated university brand platform and initiating programs to deepen a culture of philanthropy on campus.

Qayoumi said he will be giving additional updates on the situation “soon.”

Staff writer Katy Murphy also contributed to this report. Contact Katie Nelson at 408-920-5006 and follow her at Twitter.com/katienelson210.