Sonoma State University President Mike Lee has announced his retirement after being placed on administrative leave for making concessions to anti-Israel student groups on campus. The concessions included agreeing to divest the university from Israel and create a Students for Justice in Palestine advisory council.
Sonoma State University President Mike Lee has announced his retirement after being placed on administrative leave for making concessions to anti-Israel student groups on campus. The concessions included agreeing to divest the university from Israel and create a Students for Justice in Palestine advisory council.
Lee's retirement comes just days after he was publicly reprimanded by the university for making the concessions "without the appropriate approvals." In a statement, California State University Chancellor Mildred García said that Lee had made the concessions "without the appropriate approvals" and that the California State University system's board is "actively reviewing the matter."
The retiring Sonoma State president was publicly reprimanded after sending out a campus-wide memo on Tuesday detailing several agreements he had already made with anti-Israel groups, including Students for Justice in Palestine, without approval from other school administrators. These agreements included the creation of a Students for Justice in Palestine advisory council, an academic boycott of Israeli universities, expansion of Palestinian Studies programs at the school, and a demand for a ceasefire in Gaza.
García addressed the memo in a statement, Wednesday, saying that Lee made the concessions "without the appropriate approvals" and that the California State University system's board is "actively reviewing the matter." The chancellor added, "For now, because of this insubordination and the consequences it has brought upon the system, President Lee has been placed on administrative leave because of this insubordination and the consequences it has brought upon the system."
Following the reprimand, Lee expressed regret for his actions in a follow-up statement, saying, "In my attempt to find agreement with one group of students, I marginalized other members of our student population and community."
Lee's actions also took heat from local lawmakers. Local Bay Area outlet KRON 4 reported that Democrat State Sen. Scott Wiener remarked on the memo, stating, "This is horrific and wrong, my jaw dropped when I read the letter." "He is basically blacklisting Israel," the politician added.
Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs and Chief Academic Officer Nathan Evans was appointed as acting president in wake of Lee's leave.
In her statement on Lee's retirement, García added, "I will continue to work with Acting President Nathan Evans and our Board of Trustees leadership during this transitional period. Additional information will be forthcoming."
Evans provided his own statement upon taking up the role, which read, "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. For now, I encourage all of us to focus on our graduates and their supporters."
When asked for comment by Fox News Digital, reps for Sonoma State University simply pointed the outlet to García's initial statement on Lee's retirement.
