Texas A&M University announced Friday that its president has resigned after a Black journalist’s celebrated hiring at one of the nation’s largest campuses unraveled pushback over her diversity and inclusion work.
President Katherine Banks said in a resignation letter that she would retire immediately, because “negative press has become a distraction” at the nearly 70,000-student campus in College Station.
Her exit comes as Republican lawmakers across the U.S. are targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs on college campuses. That includes Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill in June that dismantles program offices at public colleges.
The A&M System said in a statement that Banks told faculty leaders this week that she took responsibility for the “flawed hiring process” of Kathleen McElroy, a former New York Times editor who had been selected to revive the school’s journalism department.
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The statement said “a wave of national publicity” suggested that McElroy “was a victim of ‘anti-woke’ hysteria and outside interference in the faculty hiring process.”
Banks has told The Texas Tribune this month that pushback had surfaced over her hiring at A&M because of her work on race and diversity in newsrooms.
In the report, McElroy noted that details of the job offer changed from initially agreeing to teach as a tenured professor to a five-year contract position without tenure. The offer was altered again, the report said, to a one-year contract at will, meaning she could be terminated at any time. McElroy rejected the offer and shared the communications with the Texas Tribune.
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Texas A&M said Friday that Banks denied knowing about the changes to McElroy's job offer.
Sharp on Friday, named Dean Mark A. Welsh III as acting president of Texas A&M University. Welsh, a retired Air Force general, is the Dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service.
PRESIDENT KATHY BANKS' RESIGNATION LETTER
Chancellor,
First, thank you for the opportunity to serve at this wonderful university. It has been an honor of a lifetime.
The recent challenges regarding Dr. McElroy have made it clear to me that I must retire immediately. The negative press is a distraction from the wonderful work being done here.
I wish Texas A&M nothing but the best. It has been a privilege to serve under you.
Kathy
