The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today denounced San José State University’s (SJSU) decision to terminate tenured Justice Studies Professor Sang Hea Kil. The dismissal directly contradicts the recommendation of the university’s own Faculty Hearing Committee (FHC), which concluded that Professor Kil should face no further disciplinary action.
SEE: Tenured professor gets dismissed
Professor Kil, a tenured Full Professor and advocate for Palestinian human rights, was dismissed on Nov. 26, 2025, following a nearly 18-month suspension. After an extensive review, the FHC unanimously recommended that she “should not receive any of the three possible disciplinary sanctions” (dismissal, demotion, or suspension) listed under the Education Code.
SEE: Excerpt from FHC Findings
In its findings, the Committee noted that Professor Kil had “already endured significant negative consequences” and expressed “concerning evidence” that the disciplinary process may have been influenced by external groups, specifically naming Hillel of Silicon Valley. Despite these findings, SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson overrode the faculty-led process to impose the harshest possible sanction: termination.
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo said:
“Faculty governance is not supposed to be theater. When an administration discards the recommendation of its own faculty-led review panel to impose a ‘professional death penalty,’ it undermines the very foundation of the university. This decision appears to be a calculated move—with possible external influence—to bypass due process and punish a professor for her political speech. SJSU must respect its own internal findings and reverse this termination.”
CAIR-SFBA calls on SJSU and California State University leadership to:
- Reverse Professor Kil’s termination and follow the faculty hearing committee’s recommendation of no disciplinary sanction.
- Respect shared governance and due process in faculty discipline, including the integrity of faculty-led review.
- Affirm academic freedom and free expression for faculty and students, including speech related to Palestinian human rights.
“Professor Kil’s case sets a dangerous precedent for every tenured educator in California,” added Billoo. “If technical policy violations can be used as a pretext for dismissal—against the explicit recommendation of a faculty panel—then no professor’s academic freedom is safe.”
Professor Kil is currently appealing the dismissal through the arbitration process.
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-SFBA Communications Manager Lorrie Adam, 408.498.5779, [email protected]