President of Texas A&M University resigns amid controversy involving hiring of Black professor
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. - The president of Texas A&M University has resigned.
Kathy Banks said the negative press following the controversial hiring process for a Black professor became a distraction.
"What should have been a non-issue has blown up into a national problem," commentator and Texas A&M alum Roland Martin said.
In June, there was fanfare at Texas A&M about the hiring of Kathleen McElroy.
McElroy, the former head of the University of Texas journalism program, was brought in to revive her alma mater’s program in College Station.
What was originally a five-year contract quickly turned into a one-year, at-will deal.
Black Texas A&M professor has contract changed; some say it's because her previous work to improve diversity
A Black professor who was hired at Texas A&M University to revitalize the school's journalism program had her contract drastically changed. Some are saying it's because of her work to improve diversity in newsrooms.
The changes happened after a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ban at public colleges became law.
McElroy wasn't hired for a DEI position, but during her career, she advocated for improving diversity in newsrooms.
Friday, the university announced its president resigned.
Martin said her resignation is a step in the right direction.
"She could have actually gotten some credit and praise from me in the faculty senate and others if she had stood up to them and said, ‘No, I am not going to water the offer down.’ But she did. She acquiesced. That was her biggest mistake. And that's what she should have done."
In Banks' resignation letter, she said: "The recent challenges regarding Dr. McElroy have made it clear to me that I must retire immediately."
In a statement, the Texas A&M University System said: "At the Faculty Senate meeting Wednesday, President Banks denied knowing about the changes in the job offer but took responsibility for a flawed hiring process after a wave of national publicity suggesting McElroy, who has done research on diversity and inclusion, was a victim of "anti-woke" hysteria and outside interference in the faculty hiring process."
Now, the question is, what is next for the journalism program in College Station?
[REPORTER: "How does A&M recover from this when that look kind of staged, if they just hired another Black head of the journalism department?"]
"The Texas A&M University Board of Regents should apologize to Kathy McElroy. They should publicly reinstate the original offer and leave it up to her to decide whether she is going to accept it," Martin said.