Interim Dean of A&M’s College of Arts & Sciences steps down amid controversy inside journalism program

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – On the day Texas A&M University announced Dr. Kathleen McElroy would be hired to oversee the new journalism department, the Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. José Luis Bermúdez, said she was the “perfect fit.”

Now, a little more than a month after the announcement that was accompanied by a signing ceremony on campus for McElroy, Bermúdez has announced he is stepping aside from the position of interim dean and returning to his faculty position in the Philosophy Department.

His announcement comes a week after McElroy, a seasoned journalist with more than 40 years of experience and part of the class of ‘81, declared that she was declining the offer to come back to College Station and join her alma mater after the conditions of her contract kept changing and A&M System officials expressed issues with her past work on race and diversity.

“I feel in the light of the controversy surrounding recent communications with Dr. Kathleen McElroy that this is the best thing that I can do to preserve the great things that we have achieved over the last year in creating the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M,” Bermúdez said in a statement Monday to staff and students. “My continuation in this role would be a needless distraction as you all continue the work that we have begun.”

In an interview last week with KBTX, McElroy shared her reasons for turning down the offer, which put Texas A&M University and the state’s new DEI laws into the national spotlight. Critics have accused DEI programs of pushing what they characterize as left-wing ideology onto students and faculty and say that these programs prioritize social justice over merit and achievement.

At the time, Bermúdez said, “Texas A&M’s policy does not permit us to comment on personnel deliberations. However, we can confirm that Dr. McElroy has an offer in hand and that we have not been notified her plans have changed– we hope that’s not the case. We certainly regret any misunderstanding that may have taken place.”

In his latest public statement, Bermúdez said, “I do not know who my successor will be, but whoever it is will have my full support.”

His final day as Interim Dean is July 31.