Hamline University President Fayneese Miller on Monday announced plans to retire, months after a controversy over Islamic artwork drew attention to the St. Paul school and her leadership of it.
Miller, who is scheduled to speak to reporters Monday afternoon, made no mention of the episode in a statement announcing her plans to retire in the summer of 2024. Instead, she spoke of efforts to balance budgets, promote inclusion and create opportunities for students who could use financial assistance.
“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,” Miller said in the statement.
She said it had been a pleasure to work with others at the university to strengthen its “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.”
Miller’s leadership of the private school had been the subject of intense debate following an episode that raised concerns about academic freedom, religious tolerance and Islamophobia. The university is currently facing a lawsuit from a former art history instructor, whose contract was not renewed after she showed centuries-old artworks depicting the Prophet Muhammad in class. Throughout history, scholars and religious leaders have sometimes disagreed over whether Islam permits images of the prophet.
The instructor’s supporters argued that she had done more than most to prepare students for the images and give them an opportunity to opt out of seeing them. Others argued that her “trigger warnings” were a sign she shouldn’t have shown the images in the first place.
As the incident — and the university’s handling of it — drew international attention in academic circles, faculty called on Miller to resign immediately, saying they “no longer have faith” in her ability to lead. Supporters suggested that Miller, the university’s first Black president, was being unfairly targeted for her race and for changes she made to help the campus survive financial challenges and enrollment declines.
Miller became Hamline University’s second female president in 2015, after spending decades working in academia. With a background in social psychology, Miller spent about 20 years at Brown University, where she helped found an ethnic studies program and served as director for the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. Miller was working at the University of Vermont as dean of the college of education and social services when Hamline tapped her to serve as its president.
This story is developing and will be updated.
