A leading professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has resigned to protest the treatment of James L. Sherley, the MIT stem-cell biologist who went on a 12-day hunger strike in February to protest his tenure denial. Mr. Sherley, who is black, has argued that the decision was racially based.

According to an e-mail message obtained by The Boston Globe, Frank L. Douglas, executive director of the institute’s Center for Biomedical Innovation, will leave at the end of June because administrators have refused to reconsider Mr. Sherley’s case.

In a statement, MIT called Mr. Douglas, who is also black, a “visionary leader” and said it hoped he would reconsider his decision.

Mr. Sherley told the Globe he hoped the resignation would shine more light on his grievances. “This is a courageous act by someone who has a lot of character and concern for African-American faculty,” he told the newspaper. “And it raises the broader issue of why this administration treats African-American faculty members differently than others.” —Scott Smallwood