A California arbitrator ordered San José State University to reinstate tenured professor Sang Hea Kil, who was fired in 2025 after participating in pro-Palestinian student protests. The California Faculty Association said the arbitrator characterized Kil’s termination as an “excessive” punishment and reduced it to a one-month unpaid suspension. The arbitrator recommended the suspension based on findings that Kil interfered with another faculty member’s lecture and that she misadvised students about a rule she “could or should have known.” CFA president Margarita Berta-Ávila said CFA would challenge “administrative overreach,” framing Kil’s advocacy as protected under academic freedom and noting she defended students’ rights to speak. San José State did not comment, citing ongoing personnel matters. Kil, according to CFA, was the first tenured full professor reportedly fired for pro-Palestinian advocacy, making the case a bellwether for how faculty speech and campus conduct policies intersect.