UT Knoxville faculty member put on leave after Charlie Kirk comments

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The University of Tennessee, Knoxville announced Monday that it had placed a faculty member on administrative leave after alleged “actions endorsing violence and murder.”

A UTK spokesperson confirmed the incident involved comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk who was recently shot and killed.

The faculty member is out of the classroom and termination proceedings have begun, UTK said. The university said she failed to meet its expectations for civic engagement and that her actions don’t represent its values.

“Teaching and shaping the lives of young people is core to the mission of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville,” UTK posted Monday afternoon, “We have a great responsibility as educators of America’s future leaders to make sure students have a healthy educational environment in which to learn, wrestle with difficult issues, and express themselves civilly. We take that responsibility seriously.”

The University did not name the faculty member or describe her alleged actions or comments.

Earlier, the University of Tennessee President Randy Boyd had said, “Celebrating or advocating violence and murder is reprehensible and has no place at the University of Tennessee.”

This comes shortly after two East Tennessee State University professors were placed on administrative leave and a Middle Tennessee State University employee was fired over comments on Kirk.

On Sunday, Tim Burchett responded to a widely shared screenshot of a comment about Charlie Kirk allegedly from a UTK faculty member. Burchett said, “I’m on it.”