Tennessee university fires professor after he SCREAMS at a student

Tennessee State University fires professor after video emerges of him SCREAMING at a student who failed his history course

• Robert Evans Pickard was fired from his job as a history professor at Tennessee State University after being recorded screaming at a student who failed his class
• Pickard can be seen getting in the student’s face and screaming ‘What is your name! Get out! Whatever your name is!’ 
• The University said in a statement that Pickard was ‘immediately removed from the classroom and has been terminated’
• Pickard defended himself and said ‘I have been under pressure lately, and I have been frustrated with students who pay attention to their cellphones and laptops’

A Tennessee State University professor has been fired after a video surfaced that showed him screaming at a student and telling him to leave after he failed his course, the school says.

History professor Robert Evins Pickard was recorded shouting in the students face before expelling him from the classroom. 

In the video, which has gone viral on various social media platforms, Pickard can be heard screaming ‘What is your name?’ at the student.

He then shouts ‘Get out! You have failed this course, whatever your name is! Out! Out!’

The University said in a statement on Tuesday that Pickard has been terminated from his position on the staff. 

Former history professor Robert Evins Pickard is seen shouting ‘Get out! You have failed this course, whatever your name is! Out! Out!’ at a student in a viral video

Pickard has said he offered his resignation to Tennessee State University after the incident occurred and is now officially retired

‘The University is aware of the incident identified in the video clip being distributed in the media, including on social media. TSU does not tolerate unprofessional behavior in its classrooms or otherwise directed at students,’ the statement said.

‘This incident runs afoul of the standard of behavior we expect from those charged with teaching and serving as role models for our students,’ they added.

‘The University has taken swift action, including personnel action, to address this incident and the faculty member shown in the video was immediately removed from the classroom and has been terminated.’

Pickard has said he offered his resignation to the University after the incident occurred and is now officially retired. 

He told local station WSMV that he ‘deeply regrets’ what happened in the classroom that day. 

The University said in a statement on Tuesday that Pickard has been terminated from his position on the staff

This post on Twitter originally shared the video, and the poster indicated she wanted to see Pickard fired for his reaction

‘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,’ he said.

‘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,’ he concluded. 

Other students at the university said Pickard has yelled at students before, but this is the first time it has been addressed. 

According to his page on the school website, Pickard previously ‘primarily researches prominent Tennessee political and entertainment figures.’

It also said ‘He has been a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines and a United Nations volunteer in Somalia.’

He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee University in 1976, and got his Master’s degree at Eastern Michigan University in 1978. Both degrees were in history.  

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