Reactions to the recent resignation of Texas A&M University’s president are coming in after she stepped down on Friday following backlash to the hiring of a journalism professor with an alleged history of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” activism.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, M. Katherine Banks announced her resignation after two years in the position, citing the lousy publicity the school got after attempting to hire University of Texas at Austin professor Kathleen McElroy to head up Texas A&M’s journalism school.
News coverage by the Texas Scorecard drew considerable attention to McElroy’s activism, noting her involvement in the Council for Racial and Ethnic Equity and her stated belief that “every faculty member and staff member of color is an ad hoc Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer.”
Texas recently passed a law that banned DEI initiatives from being deployed at taxpayer-funded universities like UT and A&M, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Amidst the growing outcry, McElroy backed out of her agreement with A&M.
“I will say it has been a difficult week for Texas A&M,” Banks said after McElroy reneged on her contract. “I’m saddened by the negative attention that we’ve received. It’s been detrimental to our shared goals and vision.”
“It’s embarrassing. I take responsibility for it,” she said.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), while opposed to DEI initiatives in universities, tweeted his appreciation for certain things Banks accomplished while president.
The situation surrounding her exit “does not negate her dedicated service to @TAMU in the 8 years I have followed her career as a member of the Texas Senate,” Bettencourt said. “Starting with the establishment of the RELLIS laboratories to many other projects, she will leave behind an ‘engineer’s legacy’ at Texas A&M.”
Others celebrated her departure unreservedly.
Nick Ciggelakis said, “Banks tried to rock the boat way too quickly on too many occasions. Hopefully A&M’s next president is more embracing of A&M’s traditions and culture.”
On the other side, Texas A&M law professor Milan Markovic denounced the reporting that led to her termination as “fear-mongering about the hiring of an eminently qualified journalism professor,” which caused “outside interference in the hiring process and the resignations of a Dean and University President.”
Banks’ resignation marks the second administrator to leave the school due to news coverage of McElroy’s hiring. Jose Luis Bermudez, the interim dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences, also announced his resignation after McElroy decided to back out of the Texas A&M deal.
“I feel in the light of controversy surrounding recent communications with Dr. Kathleen McElroy that this is the best thing that I can do to preserve the great things that we have achieved over the last year,” he admitted, per Inside Higher Ed.
According to The Texas Tribune, McElroy, who will remain in her current tenured position at the University of Texas at Austin, said that she felt “damaged” by the controversy.
“I’m being judged by race, maybe gender,” McElroy alleged. “And I don’t think other folks would face the same bars or challenges. And it seems that my being an Aggie, wanting to lead an Aggie program to what I thought would be prosperity, wasn’t enough.”
In a statement, Texas A&M University claimed it was “in the middle of eliminating offices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to comply with recent state legislation.”
Dean Mark A. Welsh III, a former Air Force general, has been announced as the university’s acting president.