Schools
CSU Board Appoints Lee As Sonoma State President
Ming-Tung "Mike" Lee has been serving as interim president since August 2022 when former President Judy Sakaki resigned.
ROHNERT PARK, CA — The California State University Board of Trustees has appointed Ming-Tung "Mike" Lee as president of Sonoma State University, the CSU Office of the Chancellor announced Wednesday.
Lee had been serving as interim president since August 2022 after former President Judy Sakaki resigned in the wake of a scandal involving alleged sexual harassment and retaliation.
A provost accused Patrick McCallum, then-husband of Sakaki, of sexual harassment and alleged that Sakaki retaliated against her for going to top officials in the chancellor's office with her complaint.
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The fallout that ensued eventually led both state Sens. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, to call for Sakaki's resignation in the interest of "the greater good" of the university.
Lee first joined the university in 2022 after leaving Sacramento State, where he served as vice president for administration and business affairs and chief financial officer from 2010 to 2018. From 2016 to 2017 he served as interim provost and vice president. His career at Sacramento State began in 1990 when he joined the faculty as an associate professor of marketing.
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Interim CSU Chancellor Jolene Koester said Lee has taken "bold, meaningful and collaborative" steps to increase enrollment since his interim appointment and said he would be a "prudent steward" of university resources.
Koester's words could allude to the six-figure settlement CSU made with the provost who had accused McCallum.
Lee said he was "honored" to be appointed president.
"As the first member of my family to earn a college degree, I understand the profound impact it can make on the life of a student and on their family," he said in a statement released by CSU.
Lee has a bachelor's degree in literature from Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan. He also holds a master's degree in international commerce and a doctorate in business administration from the University of Kentucky.
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