Dive Brief:
- The leader of Sonoma State University stepped down abruptly last week, shortly after the California State University system put him on leave over “insubordination.”
- President Mike Lee announced last week that Sonoma State had brokered an agreement with pro-Palestinian student protesters that largely met their demands. But Cal State Chancellor Mildred García said the move was made “without the appropriate approvals.”
- Nathan Evans, Cal State’s deputy vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, announced Thursday that President Mike Lee had tendered his resignation, effective immediately. Evans is now Sonoma State’s acting president.
Dive Insight:
Pro-Palestinian activists have increased the pressure on colleges to divest from Israel-affiliated companies and weapons manufacturers in response to the Israel-Hamas war and Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Lee’s resignation highlights the stakes college leaders are facing when responding to these student protesters.
Following multi-day negotiations with student protesters, Lee announced last week that Sonoma State would take part in an academic boycott of Israel. He also said the university would increase transparency around financial investments of its foundation and find “divestment strategies that include seeking ethical alternatives.”
Furthermore, Lee joined the group SSU Students for Justice in Palestine in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“I am pleased to witness that our students have effectively chosen to not be on the sidelines of history during this critical moment,” Lee said in his May 14 announcement. “They have peacefully utilized their agency, knowledge, and passion to effect change, and for that I am grateful.”
Cal State placed Lee on administrative leave the next day because of “this insubordination and consequences it has brought upon the system.”
The same day, Lee issued an apology.
“In my attempt to find agreement with one group of students, I marginalized other members of our student population and community,” he said in that statement. “I realize the harm that this has caused, and I take full ownership of it.”
On social media last week, the Jewish Community Relations Council’s Bay Area chapter applauded García for putting Lee on leave, calling the deal made between Lee and the student protesters “illegal and inappropriate.”
But the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ San Francisco Bay Area chapter condemned Lee’s departure, calling it a “termination in the guise of an abrupt retirement.”
“His removal comes in the wake of his courageous decision to meet with and accept the demands of SSU students advocating on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza,” the organization said Friday. The council cited data showing the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 35,000 people and argued that Israel’s actions amount to genocide.
SSU Students for Justice in Palestine also criticized Cal State’s handling of the situation in a social media post on Friday.
“These actions set an institutional narrative and demonstrate the culture of structural hostility towards administrators, faculty, and staff who are willing to challenge the colonial structure of the liberal university,” the group said.
Evans, Sonoma State’s acting president, lauded Lee’s past performance as head of Sonoma State and acknowledged “a degree of sadness” caused by the change in leadership.
“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 campus message on Thursday.
Since Lee’s sudden departure, Sonoma State has removed his original announcement on the brokered deal, as well as his apology, from its website. In its Friday post, SSU Students for Justice in Palestine called on Evans to honor the agreement Lee brokered.
Sonoma State did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. It’s not clear whether officials will honor the deal or negotiate with the student protesters.
Lee came out of retirement in 2022 to lead Sonoma State as interim president. The Cal State board of trustees then named him president in May 2023. Prior to retiring in 2018, Lee served as a vice president at Sacramento State University.
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