University officials across the country have resigned in recent years following student-led campus protests.

#NotAgainSU, a black student-led movement, delivered letters of resignation to Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud and three other university administrators in December. The movement demanded the officials resign by Monday for their response to a series of hate crimes and bias-related incidents.

At least 20 racist, anti-Semitic and bias-related incidents have occurred on or near SU since Nov. 7. The incidents have targeted black, Asian, Jewish, Latino and indigenous people.

Syverud said Dec. 11 that he does not intend to “walk away” from SU. As of 11:30 p.m., #NotAgainSU has not publicly commented on its deadline for the resignations.

Here are colleges and universities whose officials have resigned:

University of Missouri

Former University of Missouri president Tim Wolfe resigned in 2015 following intense pressure from the student body and criticism of the administration’s response to racist incidents.

Campus protests began after the head of Mizzou’s student government said people in a passing car shouted racial slurs at him, The Guardian reported. A month later, members of a black student organization said a white student yelled racist insults at them. A swastika was also found in a dormitory bathroom, drawn in feces.

Graffiti targeting black, Asian, Jewish and indigenous students has been found in several SU residence halls. A swastika was also found drawn in the snow outside the 505 on Walnut, a luxury apartment facing Comstock Avenue.

Student group Concerned Student 1950 organized the Mizzou student protests. The group was named after the year the university began admitting black students.

Mizzou’s football team stopped playing until Wolfe stepped down. Wolfe resigned shortly after the team’s boycott.

Anthony Sherrils, a former Mizzou student and one of the football players who participated in the boycott, said Wolfe failed to address the racial issues on campus and felt they were swept under the rug.

“Someone that’s supposed to stand up and be the campus’ voice of leadership and vision, he was giving us a clear message that he didn’t really care about some of the racial issues that were going on,” Sherrils told The Daily Orange.

Sherrils and his teammates felt the need to take a stand, and it was a relief knowing their voices were heard, he said.

Hours after Wolfe announced his resignation, former Mizzou chancellor and executive chief R. Bowen Loftin also announced he would step down.

Christian Basi, director of Mizzou’s media relations, declined to comment on both Wolfe and Loftin’s resignations.

Claremont McKenna College

Three days after Wolfe and Bowen announced their resignations, Mary Spellman, former dean of students at Claremont McKenna College in California, stepped down amid growing student protests. The demonstrations included a week of hunger strikes.

Spellman responded in October 2015 to an essay a Mexican student at CMC wrote on minority students feeling unwelcome on college campuses, according to Inside Higher Ed. Spellman emailed the author and said she and her staff were working to better serve students, especially those who don’t fit the “CMC mold.”

Students used Spellman’s words in protest, presenting the former dean with a list of racist and homophobic incidents that occurred since 2013. Spellman announced her resignation in November.

Spellman announced in an email to students that she was stepping down with “sadness beyond words,” but believed it was the right thing to do.

University of California, Davis

Students at the University of California, Davis staged a sit-in to demand the resignation of former chancellor Linda Katehi in August 2016, CBS Sacramento reported. Katehi was criticized for serving on for-profit boards while working as chancellor.

A dozen students occupied Katehi’s office overnight. Katehi later resigned over allegations that she violated the university’s conflict-of-interest rules by hiring and promoting her son and daughter-in-law.

#NotAgainSU staged a sit-in at the Barnes Center at The Arch in protest of the hate crimes and bias-related incidents. The demonstration lasted eight days.

University of California, Berkeley

Another former UC chancellor, Nicholas Dirks of UC Berkeley, resigned in August 2016 over allegations that he mishandled sexual harassment complaints on campus.

The school had experienced repeated sexual harassment scandals involving high profile faculty members, according to The Los Angeles Times. Dirks was also under investigation over allegations that he misused UC Berkeley’s budget and resources.

“Over the summer, I have come to the personal decision that the time is right for me to step aside and allow someone else to take up the financial and institutional challenges ahead of us,” Dirks said in a campus-wide announcement.

Dan Mogulof, assistant vice chancellor, said the university has nothing to add to these previous statements.

Published on January 14, 2020 at 11:30 pm

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