BREAKING: Mizzou curators vote to fire Melissa Click
The University of Missouri (Mizzou) Board of Curators voted to fire former Professor Melissa Click Wednesday with a 4-2 vote.
Chairwoman Pam Henrickson confirmed her termination to The Columbia Daily Tribune.
“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 a 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.”
Click was the subject of a viral video last fall that showed her calling on nearby students to forcefully evict a student journalist attempting to document the public protests on campus, and while the public outcry led her to resign a courtesy appointment in the journalism school, she retained her normal position as a communications professor.
According to Henrickson, Click will be allowed to appeal her termination, which is likely since she indicated she plans to fight for her job.
[RELATED: Mizzou prof. who called for 'muscle' says she will fight for her job]
The university recently hired outside investigators to review Click's case after a video of her cursing at a police officer during a homecoming parade protest surfaced online.
"Get your fucking hands off me," Click shouted at a police officer after he placed his hand on her shoulder.
Earlier this week, a group of students at Mizzou petitioned for Click's removal and managed to collect 683 signatures in one afternoon.
“To the national spotlight, all we are is Melissa Click,” student Thomas Bradbury told The Maneater. “All we are is First Amendment violators. We can claim to be the top journalism school in the country, but as long as Melissa Click is still employed at the university, I don’t think that’s true, because that means that the university sides itself with disrespecting the First Amendment.”
[RELATED: Mizzou students petition for Melissa Click to be fired]
Since the controversial videos were leaked, Click has done a few interviews with local news outlets. In an interview last week, Click admitted she "made mistakes" when participating in the on-campus protests.
“I made mistakes supporting these students, but my intention was to, like other faculty and staff, support a student group that was expressing that they had been excluded from MU, the MU community,” she said.
[RELATED: Mizzou prof. admits she 'made mistakes' during campus protests]
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski
