The San Diego Faculty Association endorses the Senate resolution of No Confidence in Chancellor Pradeep Khosla. Our recommendation is guided by the belief that the Chancellor’s decision to call militarized police forces to disperse the student encampment and to arrest students and faculty was a dangerous and unnecessary escalation that endangered our health and safety at work and disproportionately impacts members of the university community who are already subject to over-policing, profiling, and police brutality. The Chancellor’s refusal to engage with faculty only to break his silence to the Union-Tribune five weeks after his decision further underscores the reasons we have no confidence in his leadership. We believe that Chancellor Khosla’s decision to call in the police on May 6 constitutes an unlawful violation of faculty’s right to engage in protected activity. For these reasons, we find he is unfit to lead this institution.
Chancellor Khosla’s reckless, unprincipled, and cruel response to the student protest on May 6 resulted in police brutality toward students and faculty and could have ended with grave injury or loss of life. In addition, his inability to communicate with faculty and students or set up an intermediary group to resolve the encampment demonstrates a failure of shared governance and processes such as those proposed by UCOP’s own 2012 Robinson-Edley report. Associated Students recognized his failed leadership when they voted 27-0-0 for NO confidence in the Chancellor. The Graduate and Professional Student Organization also passed a resolution affirming a vote of no-confidence in the Chancellor. Chancellor Khosla’s failure to speak in front of the faculty at the Senate representative assembly to explain his decision to call in the riot police only reaffirms that he is incapable of leading us through difficult times that require self-reflection, accountability, and cooperation.
Chancellor Khosla’s authorization of the police raid and arrests of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, as well as his authorization of disciplinary procedures in its aftermath, were characterized by San Diego lawyers as depriving students and faculty of their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. These recent actions are only the latest in a tenure that has seen the erosion of shared governance, an autocratic leadership style, and actions that have been harmful to students, faculty, staff, and community members. SDFA further notes that the Chancellor oversaw the arrests of SIO research scholars and UAW members on June 29, 2023, claiming chalking constituted felony vandalism. We are gravely concerned about the Chancellor’s use of repressive tactics against those expressing protected speech or seeking fair wages at work.
On the matter of policing, since the summer of 2020 SDFA has consistently opposed policing on campus in all forms. The events of May 6 well demonstrate the way the presence of police can often initiate grave danger. The policing and surveillance strategies of university administration also shut down meaningful cooperation under the weight of constant threat of punishment. Whether UCPD, outside police, or supervisory staff, the tools of surveillance and punishment have served campus poorly and especially endanger Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and undocumented members who have historically been subject to racialized profiling, over-policing and police brutality.
For the reasons detailed above, SDFA endorses a vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Khosla.
To aid in the deliberations of the Senate faculty, we include an independent faculty group’s rationale for no confidence. SDFA offers this as important information, but the SDFA board does not concur with all positions: https://sites.google.com/view/khoslaclearsgazaencampment/