The University of Missouri has suspended Melissa Click, the assistant communications professor whose attempt to eject journalists from a campus protest in November went viral and prompted calls for her termination.
“MU Professor Melissa Click is suspended pending further investigation,” Pam Henrickson, chairwoman of the University of Missouri’s Board of Curators, said on Wednesday. “The Board of Curators directs the General Counsel, or outside counsel selected by General Counsel, to immediately conduct an investigation and collaborate with the city attorney and promptly report back to the Board so it may determine whether additional discipline is appropriate.”
Ms. Click, 45, was attending a race-related protest at Mizzou in November when she attempted to have camera-wielding student journalists removed from the rally.
“Hey, who wants to help me get this reporter out of here. I need some muscle over here,” Ms. Click was caught saying in video footage that was subsequently uploaded to the web and spread quickly.
Ms. Click apologized for her actions the next day, but calls for her removal has persisted in the months since, and the prosecutor’s office in Columbia, Missouri, charged her on Monday this week with one count of misdemeanor assault related to her altercation with the campus reporters. She pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court next month.
It was not immediately clear if Ms. Click will be paid while suspended, but interim chancellor Hank Foley said earlier this week that the university would “allow due process to play out” before making a decision with respect to her employment.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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