An assistant professor at the University of Missouri who was suspended after confrontations with student journalists last year has been fired.
Melissa Click, who was captured on video calling for "some muscle" to remove a student reporter from a protest site on campus in November, was fired by the University of Missouri Board of Curators, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported. Footage also recently emerged of Click verbally assaulting police officers at the university’s Homecoming parade in October while chanting with protesters in the street.
Click was previously suspended by the board at the end of January with pay. Following the release of the October video, a member of the board of curators and Hank Foley, the interim chancellor of the university, said that they would further review Click’s conduct.
The board voted 4-2 in favor of Click’s firing during a closed session. Pam Henrickson, the chair of the board, announced the firing in statement.
"The board respects Dr. Click’s right to express her views and does not base this decision on her support for students engaged in protest or their views," Henrickson said in the statement. "However, Dr. Click was not entitled to interfere with the rights of others, to confront members of law enforcement, or to encourage potential physical intimidation against a student."
Henrickson said that Click has the right to appeal her termination, emphasizing that the board "went to significant lengths to ensure fairness and due process."
Foley said in a statement Thursday that he agreed with the board’s decision to fire Click.
"These have been extraordinary times in our university’s history, and I am in complete agreement with the board that the termination of Dr. Click is in the best interest of our university," the interim chancellor stated. "Her actions in October and November are those that directly violate the core values of our university."