DayofPal—San José State University professor Sang Hea Kil has been reinstated after an arbitrator ruled that her dismissal was excessive.
“We have never seen such an overreach in punishing faculty, and that’s why we agreed without hesitation to represent Dr. Kill [sic] in the faculty committee and the arbitration,” California Faculty Association president Margarita Berta-Ávila said in a June 22 press release celebrating Kil’s reinstatement.
Kil, a tenured faculty member, was fired in November over alleged violations of university policy linked to her participation in pro-Palestinian campus protests, including rallies and an encampment during the Gaza war.
The university claimed that she encouraged students to take part in demonstrations that breached campus rules.
In April 2024, university officials informed Kil that she was under investigation for violating campus policies related to professional responsibility and “time, place, and manner” rules, which determine when and how protests may be conducted on campus.
After more than a year of suspension, SJSU fired Kil. She appealed to have a faculty hearing committee review the university’s case against her. The committee recommended no further repercussions beyond the one-year suspension Kil had already completed.
The arbitrator found that while she had engaged in unprofessional conduct, there was no evidence she failed to perform her academic duties.
The ruling concluded that her termination was “excessive and disproportionate,” leading to her reinstatement.
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