News Update

State lawmakers, faculty call on Sonoma State University president to resign

State Senators Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg called on Sonoma State University president Judy Sakaki to step down following a vote of no confidence by the university’s faculty, the Press-Democrat reported Monday.

About 44% of the university’s faculty voted on the no confidence resolution, with 62% of voters in favor, according to the Press-Democrat.

Sakaki has been criticized for how she handled campus sexual harassment allegations against her husband Patrick McCallum, who was a lobbyist for the state’s Fire Victims Trust. Sakaki announced her separation from McCallum last month.

Rohnert Park, the campus’s former provost was paid $600,000 earlier this year to settle a claim she filed alleging that she had been sexually harassed McCallum. Although not a university employee, McCallum was an “official university volunteer,” the Los Angeles Times reported, accompanying his wife at official functions.  Sakaki and McCullum have since separated.

Sakaki has also been criticized for her budget oversight over years of sharp enrollment declines, the Press Democrat reported.

Sakaki, in a statement, said she’s “mindful of the concerns” that prompted faculty to vote for the no confidence resolution, but did not indicate whether she was considering stepping down.


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