A California Faculty Association announcement says an arbitrator ordered the reinstatement of a tenured San José State University professor fired in 2025 after participating in pro-Palestinian student protests. The arbitrator ruled the termination was an “excessive” punishment and reduced it to a one-month unpaid suspension. The ruling describes the case as involving alleged interference with another faculty member’s lecture and what it characterized as misadvising students about a rule the professor “could or should have known.” CFA framed the dispute as an academic freedom issue tied to Gaza advocacy and student speech protections. San José State did not comment, citing ongoing personnel matters. The case follows a broader pattern of campus climate disputes that have tested the boundaries between protest activity, classroom management, and institutional due process. For higher-ed leaders and faculty governance bodies, the decision increases attention on how universities apply discipline in politically sensitive contexts—particularly when tenure status and prior faculty determinations are involved.