Vilma Ortiz, the former chair of the Academic Senate’s Privilege and Tenure Committee, testified Thursday. She said the committee, which reviews grievances brought by Academic Senate members who believe that their rights as faculty may have been violated, reached a split vote about whether UCLA violated academic freedom principles by placing him on leave, leading to no formal hearing.

However, Ortiz added that she believed Klein’s email reflected a “significant lapse in judgment,” with a “condescending” and “dismissive” tone where a simple “no” would have sufficed.