Tenured San José State Professor Challenges Firing Over Pro‑Palestinian Protests

Tenured Professor Sang Hea Kil Appeals Dismissal Over Campus Protests

Sang Hea Kil, a tenured professor in the justice studies department at San José State University and long-time adviser to the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, is contesting her termination after the university fired her in connection with pro‑Palestinian demonstrations. University officials say her dismissal is tied to a February 2024 altercation during a protest and to alleged encouragement of a student encampment that violated campus rules. Kil and her supporters say the action infringes academic freedom and faculty free-speech rights.

What the University Alleges

The university’s disciplinary case centers on two episodes: Kil’s presence at a tense February protest where an altercation between students and another faculty member — who was filming the demonstration — turned physical, and remarks Kil allegedly made at a separate event that the administration says encouraged students to form an encampment. San José State concluded after an investigation that Kil had "disrupted the university’s business operations and encouraged students to do the same." The university declined to comment further on personnel matters.

Kil’s Version and Supporters’ Response

Kil says she attended the protest in a private capacity and has accused the faculty member who filmed the demonstrators of having "assaulted" a student. She also says she joined the student encampment for three of its ten days after police raids on similar encampments in New York and Los Angeles. "A lot of my work is critical of policing, and I felt, because of what happened in New York and Los Angeles, obliged to camp with them," she told the Guardian.

"You can’t fire people for their beliefs and expression," said V Jesse Smith of the California Faculty Association, which represents Kil in arbitration. Kil has said she will sue the university if arbitration does not restore her position.

Internal Reviews, Public Criticism

An internal faculty committee that reviewed the case confirmed some policy violations but concluded that termination was a disproportionate response. Despite that internal finding — and statements from academic organizations including the American Association of University Professors, the Middle East Studies Association and California Scholars for Academic Freedom — San José State president Cynthia Teniente‑Matson upheld the dismissal. In a letter, Teniente‑Matson said Kil had placed "the education and physical safety of our students at serious risk" and acted with "intentional disregard for University policies."

At Kil’s public appeal hearing, Henry Reichman, a retired academic freedom expert from California State University, East Bay, testified on her behalf, arguing that while Kil may have violated campus rules, those violations did not affect her fitness to perform her academic duties — the standard groups like the AAUP use to assess whether dismissal is justified.

Broader Implications

The case has intensified debate about the boundaries of faculty free speech, especially so‑called "extramural" speech that occurs outside the classroom. Observers say the outcome could influence how public universities balance campus safety and order with protections for academic expression amid heightened political pressure from federal actors and public scrutiny.

Next steps: Kil is pursuing arbitration with the California Faculty Association and has said she will file suit if arbitration does not overturn the dismissal. The dispute is likely to draw continued attention from academic freedom advocates, legal analysts and campus communities across the United States.