Texas A&M System regents authorize settlement with former president

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The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents unanimously voted to authorize a settlement with former Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh III during a meeting on Friday.

A system spokesperson said Friday they couldn’t share details of the agreement with Welsh until it was finalized. Chair Robert L. Albritton said the regents had seen the agreement before voting to authorize it.

The vote follows weeks of turbulence at Texas A&M, after state Rep. Brian Harrison posted a video on Sept. 8 that went viral on X of a student confronting a professor over gender-identity content in a children’s literature course. Republican lawmakers called for firings over how the incident was handled.

In another video, Welsh can be heard telling a student he wouldn’t be firing Professor Melissa McCoul. In the aftermath of the video, Welsh fired McCoul, and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and head of the English department were demoted.

Welsh resigned on Sept. 19 amid increasing pressure after more than two years in the role.

Albritton began Friday’s meeting around noon, and the regents unanimously voted to authorize the negotiated separation agreement a few minutes into the meeting. Then they went into a private executive session until 4 p.m., two hours after it was originally scheduled to end.

Along with the settlement, the meeting’s agenda included discussion of pending litigation and personnel matters related to the presidents of system institutions. James R. Hallmark is currently acting president of Texas A&M.

“It gives the board the opportunity, as the board, to listen to the facts as presented on those different issues,” Albritton said after the meeting. “So then, when we do go to open session, we will have already discussed it.”

Albritton said the discussion the regents had “was very good.”

In 2023, A&M’s regents authorized a settlement after the botched hiring of Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalist who was set to lead Texas A&M’s re-established journalism program. McElroy’s contract was continuously watered down after conservatives began criticizing her involvement with diversity, equity and inclusion programs when she was employed at The New York Times.

McElroy ultimately rescinded her acceptance and returned to the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a tenured professor.

The ensuing outrage led to the resignation of then-President M. Katherine Banks. Then-Chancellor John Sharp asked Welsh to take the role in July 2023, and the regents appointed him as permanent president later that year. Welsh, a retired four-star general, previously served as the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force and the dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

The regents subsequently authorized a $1 million settlement with McElroy if she agreed to not pursue legal action. The agreement, which was reviewed by the Tribune, also states Texas A&M and McElroy should avoid making “negative or critical statements” about the other party.

Welsh’s tenure as president was to end on Dec. 12, 2028, according to his contract, which was reviewed by the Tribune.

After Friday’s meeting, A&M System Chancellor Glenn Hegar told The Texas Tribune that he had received a letter from Welsh on Sept. 18 notifying him of his resignation. When asked what the system and regents were looking for in a president that Welsh couldn’t fulfill, Hegar declined to comment, saying “that’s not something for today.”

“I think the fact is, we’re going to work through the process of finding the best person to be the next president of this amazing institution,” Hegar said.

Albritton, the regents chair, complimented Welsh last week, calling him a “leader that could calm the waters” after the turmoil following the McElroy scandal.

“And Mark came in and did a phenomenal job of calming those waters,” Albritton said. “And so, you know, you start with that, and then you keep progressing into, where do we go from here?”

Disclosure: The New York Times, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University System and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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