“It’s embarrasing”: Texas A&M President speaks to faculty senate about Kathleen McElroy fallout

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – For nearly two hours on Wednesday, Texas A&M University President Dr. Katherine Banks met with members of the Faculty Senate to discuss the controversy surrounding the hiring of a veteran journalist who was slated to lead the university’s new journalism program.

Last month, Texas A&M University announced alum and veteran journalist Dr. Kathleen McElroy would be hired to oversee the new journalism department but last week McElroy announced she was not taking the offer after the conditions of her contract kept changing. She said the changes came after A&M System officials expressed concerns over her past work on race and diversity issues and her previous employment at the New York Times.

On Wednesday, Banks told the Senate the situation was “embarrassing” and she takes responsibility for it.

“I will say it has been a difficult week for Texas A&M. I’m saddened by the negative attention that we’ve received. It’s been detrimental to our shared goals and vision,” Banks said.

“It’s embarrassing. I take responsibility for it as I should, as the president of the university,” Banks added.

Banks also disputed that neither she nor her office nor the Board of Regents revised the original contract that was offered.

“What I can tell us is that if there was a statement that the initial offer, accepted offer, is revoked that is not true, it was never revoked. It was never pulled back and there was never an agreement revising that offer.”

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.

Prior to Monday’s announcement from Bermúdez, several organizations expressed concerns regarding external influences on A&M’s decision to alter the contract initially offered to McElroy.

On Monday, the Interim Dean of A&M’s College of Arts & Sciences stepped down amid the controversy.

(Editor’s note: This is a developing story. KBTX will update this story as new information is independently confirmed or verified by our newsroom.)