Luke Perez, an assistant professor affiliated with Ohio State University’s Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society, submitted his resignation on Friday. The resignation came after he had been placed on administrative leave in February following an on-campus altercation with a documentarian.
The incident occurred when Perez physically confronted cameraman Mike Newman in a university hallway. Newman and another journalist were present to conduct interviews with E. Gordon Gee, a former Ohio State president who was serving as a consultant for the center, following a guest lecture. During the encounter, Perez knocked a phone from Newman’s hands and engaged in a physical struggle with him.
In July, Perez pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge. He received a sentence of two years’ probation, a suspended 30-day jail term, a $100 fine, a $240 probation fee, and was required to pay $584 in court costs. The university maintained Perez on paid leave throughout the period following the incident and during the internal faculty sanctioning process, which had not been completed at the time of his resignation.
The Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society was established by state lawmakers in 2023. The center is one of several civics-focused facilities that have been created at prominent public universities in Republican-controlled states over the past decade, many of which maintain conservative perspectives on civic education and cultural issues.
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