(RepublicanNews.org) – A woke journalism professor is $1 million wealthier after Texas A&M administrators bungled her hiring process at the school.
Dr. Kathleen McElroy reached a settlement with the nation’s largest public university on August 3rd after school officials apologized and determined that “mistakes were made” in their handling of her employment application.
In June of 2023, McElroy was asked to leave her tenured position at the University of Texas at Austin after being chosen to head A&M’s journalism department. She submitted her resignation to UT, but by mid-July A&M administrators had changed her contract terms several times. McElroy, who is black, alleged that racism was behind the changes.
The professor told one outlet that her initial guarantee of tenured employment at A&M was changed to a term of five years. That offer was then further reduced to a one-year post from which the academic could be let go at any time. McElroy rejected A&M’s offer, withdrew her resignation from UT, and chose to remain in Austin. She then retained counsel.
McElroy worked as an editor at the New York Times for over twenty years and promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion training during her time at the University of Texas. After her employment at Texas A&M was announced, an article was published statewide that referenced her past work in D.E.I.
Conservative alums then inundated the school with complaints about her background and A&M officials began backtracking on their initial offer to McElroy. The events came only about a month after Governor Greg Abbott had signed a bill banning public universities in the state from having D.E.I. offices.
A&M officials launched their own internal investigation after the professor’s story became public. The controversy led the school’s interim dean of the College of Arts and Letters to submit a letter of resignation. University president Katherine Banks also stepped down from her position.
Copyright 2023, RepublicanNews.org
