Gonzaga hires Missouri educator fired over protest conduct

Melissa Click, the professor who was sacked after she called for the physical removal of a student journalist during an incident at the University of Missouri, has found work at Gonzaga University. The Kansas City Star reports that Melissa Click has been hired as a lecturer at Gonzaga University in Spokane.

Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga, said in a written statement that Gonzaga officials knew of Click’s recent history and were confident in welcoming her to the university.

Click lost her position at Mizzou after she was filmed calling for “some muscle” to remove a student photographer from the protests there last fall.

New Gonzaga hire Melissa Click “sorry” for Mizzou incident.

Gonzaga announced its decision late Friday, saying that after a national search Click “emerged as the top candidate based on her record of teaching”.

Click’s conduct became the subject of debates over press freedom and campus protests, including the demonstrations over what some called “institutional racism” at the University of Missouri. The activists eventually gained the support of the entire football team, whose members refused to play until their demands were met.

“I’ve learned I’m not really good at crowd management and have no training in it”, she told KRCG, the CBS affiliate there.

Meanwhile another video of her surfaced around the same time, showing her shouting and swearing at officers during a protest on October 10. According to the Chicago Tribune, Click was charged with misdemeanor assault for the confrontation, but a Columbia prosecutor ultimately agreed to drop the case if Click completed community service. A Gonzaga spokesman said, “we’re very confident she’s learned from her experience”. Initially, the school said Click’s fate would be decided during her tenure hearing in August, but in February the school’s board gave in to outside pressure and fired her.