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MU Board of Curators suspends Click

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The dramatic saga of Professor Melissa Click and the University of Missouri hit another milestone Wednesday night when the MU Board of Curators voted to suspend the communications professor with pay.

Pam Henrickson, the chair of the board, did not elaborate on the reason behind their decision, but said they would wait for an investigation into a misdemeanor assault charge against Click to determine further action.

“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,” Henrickson said in the release.

Click achieved national attention for the role she played in the Concerned Student 1950 protests last November when she orchestrated the creation of a human wall around the Carnahan Quadrangle on the day former President Tim Wolfe resigned. Click then shoved a student photojournalist who tried to enter the circle and called for “muscle” in what many saw as an attempt to intimidate journalists.

The Columbia city attorney recently filed Class C misdemeanor assault charges against Click.

Rep. Steve Cookson, R-Poplar Bluff, serves as the Higher Education Committee Chairman, and he saw her suspension as a positive step for the university and as a sign of accountability.

“Upon hearing of Professor Click’s suspension, I am pleased that adults and students are being held accountable for their actions and will await the findings of the ongoing investigations,” Cookson said. “As a graduate of College of the Ozarks, we were taught responsibility and accountability as young adults.”