Sang Hea – A Cal State faculty union says an arbitrator ruled a San José State University tenured professor terminated after Gaza-related protest disputes must be reinstated, finding the firing was excessive and should be reduced to a one-month unpaid suspension. The cas
For more than two years, Sang Hea Kil’s case has moved through the churn of campus discipline over Gaza-era protests—one side arguing she helped students violate university rules, the other insisting the response crossed the line into retaliation.
This week, an arbitrator sided with Kil.
The California Faculty Assn. the union representing about 29. 000 professors. lecturers. librarians. counselors and coaches. said the arbitrator ruled Kil. a professor of justice studies at San José State University. must be reinstated as a tenured professor. In the union’s account. the arbitrator found the termination was excessive and should be reduced to a one-month unpaid suspension.
San José State University did not comment, citing an ongoing personnel matter. Spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the situation.
The arbitrator’s decision follows a November 2025 ruling by a Faculty Hearing Committee. described by the union as an independent board that investigates and adjudicates disputes involving faculty members. The committee found Kil’s actions were not egregious enough to justify dismissal. San José State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson disagreed with the committee’s decision. leading the case into arbitration. where the union sought to challenge “interference with academic freedom. free speech and the lack of ‘just cause.’” The union said it was unclear why Teniente-Matson disagreed.
“We have never seen such an overreach in punishing faculty,” the union said in a written statement. “That’s why we agreed without hesitation to represent Dr. Kil in the faculty committee and the arbitration.”
Kil’s punishment began after university officials launched an investigation in the period following widespread protests tied to the war in Gaza. The pressure on campuses intensified after the October 2023 attack against Israel by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group the U.S. has designated as a terrorist group.
According to the union, university officials notified Kil of the investigation with a letter dated April 2024. In that letter. officials claimed Kil violated her duty and responsibility as a faculty member by directing and encouraging students to violate university policies regulating free speech on campus and promoting diversity and equal opportunity. The letter alleged she took part in a February protest held inside Sweeney Hall. and said she “engaged in behavior that disrupted the university’s business operations and encouraged students to do the same.”.
Two weeks after the April letter. the union said Kil received an email from the vice president of student affairs accusing her of directing students at a May 8 rally to ignore university policies and march through the university’s recreation center. The email also accused Kil of directing students to set up an encampment on the lawn.
“That never happened,” Kil said in a phone interview at the time. “I felt very comfortable emailing her back and saying that I categorically deny all these allegations because they weren’t based on any evidence or fact.”
Kil was placed on a 60-day administrative leave while the university conducted its investigation, the union said.
At the center of the university’s case was the claim that Kil violated the university’s “Freedom of Expression and Time. Place and Manner” policy. That policy imposes limitations on free speech events held on university property. Kil, according to the reporting, said at the time the policy was not enforced equally.
The union also argued the handling of Kil reflected a pattern it has seen nationwide. It said the university’s actions against Kil were similar to steps taken against faculty members across the country who supported Palestinian issues and criticized Israel.
The union says that has helped shape bargaining efforts for stronger protections for its members against censorship or retaliation that may arise from research. scholarship and creative endeavors. Earlier this year. the union said it settled with the CSU system over disclosure of faculty members’ personal information in response to subpoenas from the Trump administration’s U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The union also said it is supporting state measure AB 2551, introduced by state Assemblymember Sade Elhawary (D-Los Angeles). The measure would require the Cal State system to include demographic data in its annual reports about student violations. including those related to time. place and manner policies. It would also require state universities to establish committee hearings to elicit feedback on such policies.
For Kil, the dispute has never been only administrative. In an email response, Kil said she and her attorneys planned to address this week’s ruling during a Monday news conference in Pasadena. Attorneys also plan to announce the filing of a civil rights lawsuit against the university.
What the arbitrator’s ruling changes now is immediate and concrete: if reinstatement follows, Kil would return as a tenured professor after a termination that the union says went too far.
San José State University SJSU Sang Hea Kil arbitration ruling Gaza protests academic freedom free speech tenured professor Cal State faculty union California Faculty Assn Cynthia Teniente-Matson