CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Over 50 students gathered outside the Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees meeting on Friday to protest the recent hiring of a professor alleged to be affiliated with a website that promotes Nazism, racism and hate group activity.
The board was holding its regularly scheduled public meeting relating to student affairs, business and finance. It became a standing-room-only gathering, with students both inside and outside the building holding up signs in protest. Students assembled around the board room and marched onto campus.
A website that tracks hate group activity has documented alleged connections between the professor and online sites and posts promoting extreme ideologies. Links to those findings were shared on the PeayMobile app, and APSU officials began investigating the matter. Several students have since dropped out of the professor’s courses in protest.
According to previous Clarksville Now reports, APSU was first made aware of the allegations on Sept. 9, after the professor informed his department chair. Clarksville Now has not named the professor, as the allegations have not been verified. The professor has not responded to Clarksville Now requests for comment; multiple sources have said he denied the allegations.
Students apply pressure
Carl Button, a student with the APSU Sexuality and Gender Alliance, said it was important for the APSU Board of Trustees to see the protest. “It’s significant because a lot of donors were there as well as top individuals in the administration. They have the most influence and power to do something about this,” Button said.
Jordana McLaughlin, a student who requested removal from the professor’s class, said she is not alone and that the professor currently has no students.
“This isn’t a political thing for me; this is a human rights issue,” McLaughlin said. “If students are concerned for their safety, if our faculty doesn’t feel comfortable coming to work, then that’s a big problem the Board (of Trustees) should address.”
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The professor is a first-year tenure-track faculty member, according to APSU spokesman Bill Persinger. The process at the time of his hiring was a criminal background check, application and letter of reference, none of which resulted in any cause for alarm, he said.
Tuesday morning, APSU President Dr. Mike Licari sent an email to the university body on the situation, informing students that the university is revamping their hiring practice in response.
The matter was not discussed at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting, as it was not on the agenda and no one signed up ahead of time to address the board during the public comments portion of the meeting.
Shay Daniels, a Black student who is the only student of color in the Psychology and Counseling doctoral program, said the professor’s presence as a faculty member sends the message that students of color are not welcome. She said this is not “something that blows up and goes away in a couple of days.”
“We’re here to say that it’s not going away,” Daniels said.
Correction: Jordana McLaughlin’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this report.
Curtis LeBlanc and Chris Smith contributed to this report.
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