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Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas
A student objected to a professor's assertion that there are more than two genders. Then Republican politicians got involved.
The dean of Texas A&M University’s College of Arts and Sciences and the head of the English department have been removed from those positions because a professor in the department dared to say there are more than two genders.
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The professor, Melissa McCoul, has not been fired, although some politicians are calling for such action, and the U.S. Department of Justice plans to investigate the situation.
McCoul drew objections from a student over a discussion of gender and sexuality in a children’s literature class. The student, whose name has not been made public, told McCoul she wasn’t sure it was legal to teach about this topic, due to Donald Trump’s executive order recognizing only male and female genders as assigned at birth and threatening federal funding to any institutions that embrace what his administration calls “gender ideology.” The exchange was recorded on cell phone video and posted on X by Republican Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison.
The student also said the assertion that there are more than two genders goes against her religious beliefs and the beliefs of many others. McCoul replied that the student has a right to her beliefs but is “under a misconception that what I’m saying is illegal.” The professor added, “My gender isn’t illegal.” (It isn’t clear if McCoul is transgender or cisgender.) McCoul said she has the right and expertise to teach about the subject and that if the student is uncomfortable in the class, she has the right to leave.The professor followed up with, “It’s time for you to leave.”
Harrison posted the video with the caption “CAUGHT ON TAPE: TEXAS A&M STUDENT KICKED OUT OF CLASS AFTER OBJECTING TO TRANSGENDER INDOCTRINATION... and A&M President defends ‘LGBTQ Studies.’”
Texas A&M President Mark Welsh issued a statement Monday night saying, “I learned this afternoon that key leaders in the College of Arts and Sciences approved plans to continue teaching course content that was not consistent with the course’s published description. As a result, I directed the provost to remove the dean and department head from their administrative positions, effective immediately. Our students use the published information in the course catalog to make important decisions about the courses they take in pursuit of their degrees. If we allow different course content to be taught from what is advertised, we let our students down. When it comes to our academic offerings, we must keep our word to our students and to the state of Texas.”
It isn’t clear if the dean or department head will continue to be employed at the university outside those administrative positions. They weren’t named in Welsh’s statement, but the Texas A&M website lists Mark Zoran as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Emily Johansen as head of the English department.
Harrison also shared a recording, purportedly of Welsh and the objecting student, with the president saying McCoul would not be fired and that LGBTQ+ studies are important “for students who might want to become ‘psychiatrists’ or ‘school superintendents,’” Texas Scorecard reports. “There is a professional reason to teach some of these courses,” Welsh said.
Glenn Hegar, chancellor of the Texas A&M System, which oversees Texas A&M’s main campus and 11 other universities, issued a less supportive statement. “It is unacceptable for Texas A&M System faculty to push a personal political agenda,” said Hegar, a former Texas state legislator and a Republican.
Faculty should not engage in “indoctrination,” he continued, and he said he’d been informed that a professor “failed to comply with clear instructions to align course descriptions with course materials.” He concluded, “I will work with the Board of Regents to make certain that the A&M System takes the disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again at one of our campuses.”
Harrison said he is referring Texas A&M to the Trump administration for investigation and asking Gov. Greg Abbott “to fire the A&M officials involved and to instruct his Regents at all public universities to immediately end all DEI and LGBTQ indoctrination.”
Abbott praised Welsh’s action against the dean and department head, then said McCoul should be fired as well. Harrison replied to Abbott’s X post by saying Welsh should be fired too.
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice, commented on X, “This is deeply concerning,” and said the DOJ would investigate.
The Texas branch of the American Association of University Professors expressed concern about political pressure on academia. “Academic freedom, which Texas A&M endorses, refers to instructors’ right to teach in their area of expertise free from government interference,” the organization posted on X.
A recent AAUP study indicated that about a quarter of professors in Texas have applied for jobs in other states, and another quarter plan to, all due to increased political interference with their lessons.
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