Charges that a UC Davis professor threatened Zionists are unresolved. Regents want action

The University of California is aiming to speed up the faculty discipline process amid criticism that cases take too long to complete — including one involving a UC Davis professor accused of posting threats to Zionist journalists that included emojis of blood and a hatchet.

UC officials told the Board of Regents at a meeting Wednesday in San Francisco that possible reforms could include systemwide case tracking to understand where delays are occurring, chancellor progress reports on cases, timelines to complete investigations, and a systemwide faculty committee to review cases that an individual campus may be reluctant to take on.

The UC Davis case was not mentioned at the meeting, but it has been a driving force in the push for reform.

Three days after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, a post on the X account of Jemma Decristo, a UC Davis assistant professor of American studies, said: “one group of ppl we have easy access to in the US is all these Zionist journalists who spread propaganda & misinformation / they have houses w addresses, kids in school / they can fear their bosses, but they should fear us more 🔪🪓🩸🩸🩸.”

The post drew widespread condemnation and calls for Decristo’s firing. UC Regent Jay Sures said at the time that the comments were “antisemitic and disgusting,” while UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May denounced them as “revolting in every way” and said the case would be investigated. The university declined to comment on the status of the case Wednesday, saying it involved “confidential personnel matters.”

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Decristo, who earns $116,800 annually, remains listed on the UC Davis faculty directory but has not been teaching since the controversial post 15 months ago. The professor did not respond to a request for comment.

The UC Academic Senate takes the lead in reviewing faculty misconduct cases and can recommend sanctions, including written censure, salary reductions, demotions, suspensions without pay or dismissal.

Academic Senate Chair Steven W. Cheung cautioned regents Wednesday against hasty action in revising the discipline process. He said comprehensive reviews, which could lead to prolonged hearings in complex cases, might require time to complete beyond any predetermined targets. He cited outside criminal cases in which convictions had been overturned because of flaws in the investigation process. Cheung said UC must guard against such errors, which could result in dismissal of cases, financial penalties or damage to the university’s reputation.

“There’s a natural desire for rapid closure of faculty misconduct cases where factual evidence points to manifestly offensive or seemingly incriminating action attributable to the accused, yet satisfactory closure of all cases, sensational and otherwise, must be tempered by our collective American credence that the accused is innocent until proven guilty,” Cheung said in written comments Wednesday. “This belief requires fair, equal and just treatment of the accused and adherence to the transparent procedures that are compliant with applicable state and federal laws.”

Regents Sures and Rich Leib, however, expressed impatience with the discipline process.

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“When you look at the timelines, this is so beyond what is necessary and reasonable,” Leib said.

Sures said UC would probably need to “upend the system.”

“The current process, in my mind, is unacceptable,” he said. “The concept of having faculty perform self-governance is not working. Nothing about this system is working now.”

Leib, Sures and Regent Maria Anguiano will form a board committee to work with the faculty and administrators who are reviewing the process; the groups plan to recommend changes by May. Regents would vote on them at their July meeting.

UC Provost Katherine Newman noted that UC sexual violence and harassment complaints took an average of 283 business days — more than a year — to resolve. Quicker action on faculty misconduct cases would require more investigators at a time UC is facing budget constraints, she said.

“None of us are interested in fossilized discipline practices and processes,” Newman added. “This is an opportune moment for us to look inward and evaluate what can be improved.”