University President Ousted Over Explosive Pro-Palestinian Email

An email sent by the president of Sonoma State University in California to students and faculty agreeing to some of the demands of campus pro-Palestinian protesters has led to a significant upheaval at the small public university, coming after weeks of demonstrations at bigger schools across the state and country.

President Mike Lee sent a campus-wide memo last week indicating that he had made several concessions to occupants of a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. The email was sent "without the appropriate approvals," according to California State University (CSU) Chancellor Mildred Garcia.

In the wake of the controversy, the university announced that Lee would be stepping down "temporarily." He announced his retirement shortly thereafter.

"Because of this insubordination and the consequences it has brought upon the system, President Lee has been placed on administrative leave," Garcia said in a statement.

In his memo, Lee informed the campus that he would initiate an academic boycott of Israel and agreed to remove links to study abroad programs in Israel from university pamphlets — what would have been the first time an American university has refused to work with Israeli academic institutions.

Among the four "points of agreement," Lee further pledged to review the school's contracts and a campus-specific investment fund called the Sonoma State Foundation for ties to Israel "to determine a course of action leading to divestment strategies that include seeking ethical alternatives."

He also agreed to work with a local chapter of the activist group Students for Justice in Palestine to form an advisory council.

The response to Lee's memo was swift and severe. Various groups, including Jewish advocacy organizations, faculty members and political figures slammed it as a capitulation to anti-Israel demonstrators and a slap in the face to the tenets of academic freedom. State Senator Scott Wiener said that Lee aligned the campus with a movement aiming for the destruction of Israel.

"The President of Sonoma State University aligned the campus with BDS, a movement whose goal is the destruction of Israel, home to 7M Jews," Wiener wrote on X. "Several other UC & CSU campuses are doing this more subtly. Sonoma State simply said the quiet part out loud. The mask is off."

In a follow-up message to the campus community, Lee issued an apology and expressed regret, acknowledging the harm caused by his attempt to acquiesce to the protesters' demands.

"In my attempt to find agreement with one group of students, I marginalized other members of our student population and community. I realize the harm that this has caused, and I take full ownership of it. I deeply regret the unintended consequences of my actions," he wrote.

Speculation surrounding Lee's future at the state school spread rapidly, with SSU's acting president, Nathan S. Evans, confirming in a letter to to the campus that Lee informed CSU of his decision to "go back into retirement."

Lee's ouster means the small state school will have its third president in two years. Lee's predecessor, Judy Sakaki, was forced out as Sonoma State's president in 2022 amid allegations that her husband had sexually harassed members of the faculty, according to reports in local media.

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