Another View
Second of two parts
Contrary to some reports, she wasn’t forced out of her job, according to Hamline President Dr. Fayneese Miller. However, it did appear that way after she announced her intention to retire in April, a couple months after a no-confidence vote by the school’s faculty.
Instead, Miller is leaving on her own terms, according to the outgoing president, taking a sabbatical before she officially retires in June of next year. She wanted to set the record straight during our recent sit-down interview.
Miller was widely criticized after a campus controversy over the showing of images of the Prophet Muhammad in an art history class. The instructor was dismissed but later brought back.
“Faculty hire and fire faculty. Not me,” said Miller. “The world is out there thinking I fired someone. That is the false story.”
She said that diversity on campus as well as free speech now seem under attack. “I look at what happened to me as a president here at Hamline. I look at what happened to [President] Claudine Gay at Harvard.
“I look at what happened to the immediate past president of Temple. I could go on and on and on about those of us who get criticized in ways that others did not or do not simply for trying to do our job and caring about the people whose lives have been entrusted to us.”
After an impromptu digression, Miller was glad to return to our original topic—sports. “I just love sports,” said Miller.
Related Story: Hamline’s President Miller has soft spot for student-athletes
“My son and my husband are big [New York] Knicks fans. So, of course I love the Knicks too. But I go to the Timberwolves games,” she said, adding that she is a Lynx season ticketholder. “But I would say what I love most is watching my students play.
“I would say that’s the hardest thing for me leaving behind is the students. Not just my student-athletes,” she pointed out. “I called them my scholar-athletes most of the time because they’re really good students. They make this place special. I see them as giving life to the institution with what they bring to our campus.
“I see them taking on challenges that many of us don’t take on anymore. Whether it’s speaking up for what’s right, [and] doing those kinds of things. I see them pushing us to be better than we currently are. So I’m going to miss that about the students.”
As an unabashed sports fan, attending games in person has served her well over the years, especially during her time as Hamline president, she said.
“What sports does is, it allows me to take a deep breath. I could say it’s my escape. I can just be one of the crowd and just watch the game. Cheer like a fan, but do it the right way.”
Although Miller soon will be leaving campus, she stressed that she won’t completely go away. “I don’t want to get in the way of the acting president,” said Miller. “I’ve told the football team I’ll be back to watch the games. I’ll come back to watch some of the other teams play the games.
“But these are my kids, these are my babies. I’m going to miss them.”