ST. PAUL, MN — Hamline University President Fayneese Miller will retire in June 2024, her office said Monday. She became president in 2015.
Miller’s announcement comes months after the university was embroiled in a national controversy involving an adjunct art history professor who was dismissed after showing images of the Prophet Muhammad in her fall 2022 class.
A campus-wide email sent by the administration in November said that Erika López Prater’s decision to show 14th and 16th-century images of the founder of Islam to students was “undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful and Islamophobic.”
Some Muslims, including a student in her class who complained to administrators, believe images of Muhammad are idolatrous and should be prohibited. López Prater said she provided a warning before showing the images.
Her contract was not renewed when the fall semester concluded.
Following a Jan. 8 report on the incident in the New York Times, Miller publicly criticized the media and defended the administration’s actions.
But she backtracked on Jan. 17 after López Prater filed a lawsuit against Hamline for defamation, religious discrimination, breach of contract, and violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
Just hours after the lawsuit was announced, Miller admitted the university was at least partially at fault.
“In the interest of hearing from and supporting our Muslim students, language was used that does not reflect our sentiments on academic freedom,” read a joint letter from Miller and Ellen Watters, the chair of Hamline’s board.
“Based on all that we have learned, we have determined that our usage of the term ‘Islamophobic’ was therefore flawed.” Later that month, a majority of Hamline professors voted to ask Miller to resign.
Hamline administrators were not the only ones to change their tune on the controversy.
After its local chapter held a news conference condemning López Prater and defending the student who complained, the national arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations later said its “official position” is that the academic study of ancient paintings depicting Muhammad “does not, by itself, constitute Islamophobia.”
CAIR added that they’ve seen “no evidence” that López Prater had bigoted intent or engaged in Islamophobia during her course last semester.
Miller did not mention the art history controversy in her announcement Monday.
“It has been an honor and privilege to lead Hamline University, an institution that values social justice, equity, inclusion, and civic engagement through its service-learning opportunities for students and curriculum offerings,” she said in a statement.
“I am proud that Hamline recently received significant federal funding and targeted increased private donations to support paid internships which will afford widespread opportunity for Hamline students for paid real-world employment experiences. It has been a pleasure working together with board members, students, faculty, staff, and the community in enhancing Hamline University’s strong commitment to maintaining high academic standards, creating a sense of belonging for all on campus, and developing students who understand and appreciate their role as members of a civil society.”
She is the 20th president of Hamline, the second female president, and the first person of color in the job.
