Texas A&M President Mark Welsh Resigns Amid Turmoil Over Gender Identity Lecture and Faculty Firings

COLLEGE STATION, TX – Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh III resigned on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 18, 2025, following intense scrutiny and political pressure stemming from a controversy involving a professor’s gender identity lecture and subsequent faculty terminations. His departure caps a week of escalating tensions that have raised significant questions about academic freedom and political influence within the state’s public university system.

The controversy ignited earlier this month when a secret recording of Professor Melissa McCoul’s ENGL 360: Literature for Children class went viral. The video, shared by a GOP state representative, showed a student confronting McCoul over her teaching of gender identity concepts and the nonbinary protagonist in the novel “Jude Saves the World.” The student accused McCoul of violating an executive order, a claim McCoul dismissed.

Despite an initial defense of academic freedom by President Welsh in a separate recorded meeting with the student, the public outcry and political pressure intensified. Within days, Welsh terminated McCoul, citing inconsistencies between her course content and its published description. He also demoted College of Arts and Sciences Dean Mark Zoran and English Department Head Emily Johansen, alleging they failed to follow directives regarding McCoul’s course designation.

McCoul, who specialized in children’s literature with a minor in gender studies, has denied the allegations and is appealing her termination, asserting she taught the class as she always had. Faculty and higher education advocates have largely condemned the university’s actions, viewing them as politically motivated and a direct result of pressure from state officials and conservative lawmakers.

The Texas A&M Board of Regents Chair, Robert L. Albritton, denied political pressure influenced the decisions, though he expressed frustration with an unnamed “moron” publicly demanding Welsh’s removal. However, Republican leaders, including Governor Greg Abbott, have publicly framed McCoul’s case as a violation of Texas law, despite acknowledgments from State Representative Brian Harrison that no specific state law prohibits instruction on gender identity in universities. Laws passed in recent years banning DEI offices explicitly exempted academic instruction.

Experts in higher education leadership warn that the incident could have chilling effects on academic freedom, with professors potentially self-censoring due to fear of being recorded and disciplined under vague pretenses. The American Association of University Professors’ Texas A&M chapter stated that McCoul’s dismissal “sends a chilling message to the entire academic community in Texas.”

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