The president of Sonoma State University in California decided to retire after being put on administrative leave for meeting anti-Israel student protesters’ demands, which included approving an academic boycott of Israel.
SSU president Ming-Tung “Mike” Lee sent a campus-wide memo on Tuesday, agreeing to make several concessions to the organizers of an anti-Israel encampment on campus. In addition to the Israel boycott, Lee said he would work with the university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine to form an advisory council on certain decisions and issued a personal condemnation of what he called Israel’s “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.
“Both SSU Students for Justice in Palestine and I, President Mike Lee, oppose and condemn all acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, racism, antisemitism, and other activities that violate fundamental human rights. And thus, I call for a cease-fire so that a process for permanent, peaceful resolution can be established,” he wrote.
The memo drew the attention of Democratic state senator Scott Wiener, who accused Lee of “blacklisting Israel.” On Wednesday, California State University chancellor Mildred García described the campus-wide message as “insubordination,” saying it “was sent without the appropriate approvals.” Lee offered an apology for failing to obtain the appropriate approvals before revealing his deal with the encampment leaders.
A day later, García announced that Lee had retired, effective immediately.
“President Ming-Tung ‘Mike’ Lee has informed me of his decision to retire from his role at Sonoma State University,” the leader of the state’s public university system said in a statement on Thursday. “I thank President Lee for his years of service to the California State University—starting at California State University, Sacramento—and to higher education overall. I wish him and his family well.”
“I will continue to work with Acting President Nathan Evans and our Board of Trustees leadership during this transitional period,” she added. “Additional information will be forthcoming.”
Lee’s departure, according to Politico, marks perhaps the harshest public reprimand against a university leader in California since the anti-Israel campus protests started en masse last month. The protests have even affected this year’s main commencement ceremonies at numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Southern California, but not SSU’s.
Evans, who replaced Lee, told members of the campus community to turn their attention toward celebrating the Class of 2024 during Saturday’s commencement ceremony.
“We will create spaces and places to process President Lee’s retirement and other recent developments as a community in the coming days and weeks,” Evans said in a Thursday statement to students and faculty. “For now, I encourage all of us to focus on our graduates and their supporters.”