NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee State University professor is out of a job after a viral video appeared to show him yelling at a student, officials said.
According to WZTV and WSMV, the university in Nashville announced Tuesday that the professor, Robert Evins Pickard, “is no longer employed” by the school.
“TSU does not tolerate unprofessional behavior in its classrooms or otherwise directed at students,” the university said in a statement. “The university is committed to providing a healthy and positive academic environment for all students. This incident runs afoul of the standard of behavior we expect from those charged with teaching and serving as role models for our students.”
The university went on to say it took “swift action, including personnel action, to address the incident.”
— Tennessee State University (@TSUedu) November 1, 2022
The news came a day after the video circulated on social media. According to WZTV, the clip appears to show a professor getting close to a student and shouting, “I said, ‘What is your name?’ Out of here. Get out. You are failing this course, whatever your name is. Out, out, out, out!”
It wasn’t immediately clear what led up to the incident.
In a statement obtained by WSMV, Pickard apologized and said he resigned.
“I deeply regret what happened in class,” the statement read, according to the news outlet. “I lost my temper and did something I should never have done. I have been under pressure lately, and I have been frustrated with students who pay attention to their cellphones and laptops, then wonder why they get low grades. But that does not excuse my behavior. I apologized to the students and offered my resignation. I am now retired, as I had planned anyway. Please respect my privacy; it is over now.”
A TSU professor has been fired after a concerning video of him yelling in a student's face surfaced on Twitter. Watch and listen as @RyBrez reveals the statement the professor released.
— WSMV 4 Nashville (@WSMV) November 2, 2022
Watch the original Twitter video: https://t.co/uLmiHe5fN3 pic.twitter.com/snKsdMxW4B
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