Hamline  University president to retire following Islamic art controversy

The president of Hamline University, who was widely criticized for her response to an art history professor who showed students a painting of the Prophet Muhammad, announced Monday she would retire June 30, 2024.

The announcement comes more than two months after faculty of the St. Paul, Minnesota, university called on President Fayneese Miller to resign immediately, saying they no longer had faith in her ability to lead the university.

Last year, the university did not renew the contract of Erika López Prater, an adjunct professor who showed a treasured 14th-century painting of the Prophet Muhammad in her online art history class. The school went so far as labeling López Prater “Islamophobic,” though it later retracted that description.