Controversy surrounding Texas A&M and DEI lead to the university president's resignation

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KTRK) -- New claims are coming to light in the debacle at Texas A&M surrounding the botched hiring of Dr. Kathleen McElroy. As part of the fallout, the university's president tendered her resignation on Friday.

There are also conflicting accounts of how involved she was in the reported changing terms of McElroy's offer.

The state's Legislative Black Caucus released a statement on Friday.

Chair Rep. Ron Reynolds said these types of situations have the potential to taint our tip-tier institutions, and this particular incident could open A&M up to legal repercussions.

"This debacle has made Texas A&M look like a second-rate university," national journalist Roland Martin said.

He had harsh criticism for his alma mater. The Aggie applauded the summer announcement that Dr. McElroy would revive the school's journalism program. However, he said the reports about the university changing the terms of her offer that led to her ultimately walking away from the job sent a chilling message to Black alum.

"If we leave and we go achieve great things, great heights in our career," he said, "but because we fight for diversity in our field, we are essentially unwelcome to come back and bring our knowledge and work for the university."

Current faculty also expressed concern in a meeting on Wednesday.

Then-President Banks assured them that she was not involved in changing the terms of McElroy's contract based on outside pressure from conservatives concerned about her work in diversity, equity, and inclusion and her past employment at the New York Times.

During the recorded meeting, Banks said, "I wasn't involved in those conversations. I can't tell you for sure what happened or who said what. That is not something I know."

Banks also claimed decisions surrounding McElroy's employment at the university were made at the department level. Still, the head of Texas A&M's communications and journalism department said his signature was used to make changes without his knowledge.

Dr. Hart Blanton released a statement Friday night in a personal capacity accusing Banks of misleading faculty and the public.

Blanton said he recruited McElroy, but Banks "injected herself into the process atypically and early on." The statement went on to say that an administrator acknowledged McElroy's hiring was subject to stricter scrutiny at least, in part, because of her race.

Martin said, "Even though President Banks has now resigned, she's part of the problem, and the problem is still there."

The problem may continue growing depending on when McElroy, a veteran journalist, decides to share her story. When reached for comment, she said she would at a future date. For now, she stated, "I'm deeply grateful for the groundswell of support I've received, especially from Aggies of all majors and my former and current students."

Martin said, "We are not going to be silent with how we are being treated or how we are being mistreated. We are going to call you out and make it perfectly clear that we are not going to allow it to happen again. If you come at one of us, you come at all of us.

Martin has called for athletes to turn down offers to attend A&M. He also said the school should apologize to McElroy and reinstate her original offer.

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