A Texas lawmaker is demanding answers after a botched hiring at Texas A&M resulted in a large settlement between the two parties.
Texas A&M reached a settlement with Kathleen McElroy, a proponent of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), after the failed hiring that also resulted in the resignation of then-president M. Katherine Banks.
McElroy previously wrote in an op-ed for The Daily Texan that The University of Texas at Austin, where she is a tenured professor, has a history of “being downright hostile and less than welcoming to students who do not identify as cisgender straight White men.”
She also claimed in the op-ed that the university had become more diverse, but “every faculty member and staff member of color is an ad hoc Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer at UT because our numbers are so small.”
The potential hire of a DEI advocate resulted in negative publicity for the school since the state of Texas banned DEI initiatives from being implemented at taxpayer-funded universities, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
McElroy chose to decline the final offer from Texas A&M after the university allegedly adjusted the terms. Reportedly, it proposed a one-year contract as a professor without tenure and a three-year appointment as the director of the journalism program, according to The Texas Scorecard.
There was also reportedly an emphasis that her employment could be terminated at any time.
The negative publicity from the incident prompted Banks to resign from her position as the university’s president.
Banks’ resignation letter stated, “The recent challenges regarding Dr. McElroy have made it clear to me that I must retire immediately. The negative press is a distraction from the wonderful work being done here,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
University officials sought a settlement with McElroy following the incident, and the general counsel began investigating the failed hiring.
A report from the Office of the General Counsel, released on August 3, states that “significant mistakes were made in this hiring process, primarily due to a failure to follow established policies and procedures that govern faculty hiring.”
Texas A&M agreed to pay McElroy a $1 million settlement due to the botched hiring, and she will remain a professor at UT Austin.
A joint statement was released by Texas A&M and McElroy, in which the university apologized for the mistakes made during the hiring process.
“Texas A&M University remains in my heart despite the events of the past month. I will never forget that Aggies – students, faculty members, former students and staff – voiced support for me from many sectors. I hope the resolution of my matter will reinforce A&M’s allegiance to excellence in higher education and its commitment to academic freedom and journalism,” McElroy said.
Now, Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) is demanding answers as to why the settlement must be paid.
“Like hell my constituents should have to pay a DEI activist professor one million dollars for simply not leaving one government job for another government job,” said Harrison, per The Texas Scorecard.
“She’s still tenured at UT Austin and is getting a $1M bonus? I will demand answers from Texas A&M University, my alma mater.”
