CHICAGO, USA: A professor who wore an Islamic-style headscarf to her Christian college in suburban Chicago says she continues to support the Muslim community after officials at her school said they plan to fire her for saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

Wheaton College initiated the termination-for-cause proceeding against Larycia Hawkins on Tuesday, saying she refused to participate in “clarifying conversations” about theological issues.

A spokeswoman for Hawkins says the professor plans a Wednesday morning news conference in downtown Chicago. Hawkins is a Christian and an associate professor of political science.

The private evangelical school west of Chicago placed Hawkins on paid administrative leave in December. Hawkins also had started wearing a hijab, the headscarf worn by some Muslim women, but the school has said that is not why she was placed on leave.

In a statement on its website, the private evangelical school west of Chicago said Provost Stanton Jones initiated the termination-for-cause proceeding after Hawkins refused to participate in “clarifying conversations” about theological statements “that seem inconsistent with Wheaton College’s doctrinal convictions, which she voluntarily agreed to support and uphold when she entered into an employment agreement with the college.”

Hawkins, who is a Christian and an associate professor of political science, began wearing a hijab to counter what she called the recent “vitriolic” rhetoric against Muslims. She told reporters last month that her actions “were motivated by a desire to live out my faith.”

The college said it has had frank conversations with Hawkins on doctrinal issues as it pursued the possibility of reconciliation with her but that “Hawkins has stated clearly her unwillingness to participate in such further clarifying conversations.”

A spokeswoman for Hawkins, Shelly Ruzicka, said the professor wouldn’t immediately comment on the effort to fire her but that it comes as Hawkins “maintains Christian support for the Muslim community amid the ongoing anti-Muslim climate.”