A professor at Texas A&M University was fired and others were removed from their positions after a video surfaced in which a student confronted the instructor over her teaching of issues related to gender identity when it is not part of the curriculum.
The firing of Melissa McCoul, a senior lecturer in the English department with over a decade of teaching experience, came after Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, called for her termination for selfishly promoting her personal agenda.
The incident prompted Glenn Hegar, the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, to order an audit of courses at all 12 schools in the system.
"It is unacceptable for A&M System faculty to push a personal political agenda," Hegar said in a statement last 8 September. "We have been tasked with training the next generation of teachers and childcare professionals. That responsibility should prioritize protecting children not engaging in indoctrination."
In an email, McCoul referred all questions to her attorney, Amanda Reichek. Reichek said in a statement that McCoul has appealed her termination and "is exploring further legal action."
Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh III said in a statement last 9 September that he directed the campus provost to fire McCoul after learning the instructor had continued teaching content in a children’s literature course "that did not align with any reasonable expectation of standard curriculum for the course."
Welsh said the issue had been raised earlier this summer and he had "made it clear to our academic leadership that course content must match catalog descriptions for each and every one of our course sections." Welsh said he learned that this was not taking place.
"This isn’t about academic freedom; it’s about academic responsibility," Welsh said.
Welsh also ordered the removal of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the head of the English Department from their administrative positions.
The controversy began after Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison posted a video, audio recordings and other materials on a thread on the social media site X. Harrison called for the professor and Welsh to be fired for "DEI and LGBTQ indoctrination."
In one video, a female student and the professor can be heard arguing over gender identity being taught in a children’s literature class. The student and professor are not shown and it’s unclear when the video was taken.
"This also very much goes against not only myself but a lot of people’s religious beliefs. And so I am not going to participate in this because it's not legal and I don’t want to promote something that is against our president’s laws as well as against my religious beliefs," the student could be heard saying in the video.
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