A spokesperson for the South Dakota Board of Regents confirmed the intent to fire a USD Fine Arts Professor. The move is in response to the professor’s post on his personal social media account in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination.
University of South Dakota School of Fine Arts Professor Michael Hook’s Facebook post began circulating on Friday, with Republican political leaders taking issue with his comments.
The expletive-laden post said while Hook was previously unfamiliar with Charlie Kirk, the professor understood him to be a “hate-spreading Nazi.” The post went on to question where “all this concern” was with other shootings including the murders of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and state Sen. John Hoffman earlier this June.
Hook’s faculty page on the University of South Dakota website has since been removed. The initial post and Hook’s social media pages have also been deleted.
Shuree Mortenson is the Director of Communications for the state’s Board of Regents —the governing body over the state’s public university system which includes USD. She confirmed the board has begun the process by filing an intent to terminate Hook.
“So that decision really came down to our Board of Regents," Mortenson said. "We have a nine-member board and ultimately, they made that decision.”
Mortenson provided a statement from the BOR, that said it’s important that employees “promote constructive dialogue based on mutual respect. When faculty and staff discuss or write about issues of public concern, they must recognize their roles as educators and their standing in their communities, which brings added obligations.”
She confirmed that Hook was fired under the SD Board of Regents policy 4.4.8, which addresses faculty remediation. While the section doesn’t specifically address personal social media usage, it points to faculty speaking and writing as private citizens.
The code of conduct said while employees “must be free from instructional censorship or discipline…their special position in the community imposes special obligations.” Those include that “they should at all times be accurate, show respect for the opinions of others and make every effort to indicate when they are not speaking for the institution.”
While some question if the firing is a violation of Hook’s First Amendment rights, others, like Gov. Larry Rhoden and State Speaker of the House Jon Hansen, applauded the termination. Both took to social media to express their opinions on Hook’s post Friday afternoon
Mortenson declined to answer if the Board of Regents expects a lawsuit or if pressure from either Hansen or Rhoden impacted the decision.
Mortenson said the Board of Regents has heard from many people about relieving Hook of his duties.
"We've received comments from students, from constituents, from members of the community on, you know, on all sides of the issue," Mortenson said.
Some are already taking action to have Hook reinstated. That includes a change.org petition that has over 2,400 signatures. The petition claimed Hook's Facebook post "was in no way affiliated with the University," adding that firing him "gives our campus the idea that we are not allowed to use our right to the Freedom of Speech."
