COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Following controversies that have put Texas A&M University in the national spotlight, the university's Faculty Senate has announced that an Executive Committee and fact-finding committee have been formed to "investigate the circumstances" around why A&M was unable to secure Dr. Kathleen McElroy as the university's new journalism program lead.
The letter from Faculty Senate Speaker Tracy Hammond can be found below:
"Dear Senators,
Multiple recent events have demonstrated systematic problems in regards to the protection of academic freedom at the university. Two such events include the failed hiring of Dr. Kathleen McElroy and the suspension of Professor Joy Alonzo.
On July 18, 2023, the Faculty Senate ratified a resolution that included a directive that "the Faculty Senate appoint a fact-finding committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the failed appointment" of Dr. Kathleen McElroy.
Given the importance of understanding what happened and the goal of preventing it from happening again, the Executive Committee is undertaking the investigation with a fact-finding subcommittee, which will be followed by an analysis and recommendation by the full EC. Additionally, given the relationship between the two events and their impact on academic freedom, the Executive Committee expanded the charge of this investigative committee to be "an investigation that examines the circumstances surrounding the failed hiring of McElroy and the suspension of Alonzo, with the goal of understanding the events that occurred and to make recommendations of changes in SAPS, rules and processes to ensure that similar events do not happen again."
This committee will consist of a subcommittee of the Executive Committee that, in the interest of greater objectivity, will not include faculty members of the College or Arts & Sciences, College of Pharmacy, or the College of Engineering. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee selected the following three senators who are known for their strong commitment to faculty governance, unquestionable ethics, and ability to provide sufficiently-objective interpretations of events. Additionally, the membership spans different colleges, includes a senator with long-standing experience on the Faculty Senate, and also includes law experience.
The investigative subcommittee consists of:
- Mark Burge, Professor of Law, Texas A&M School of Law
- Matthew Taylor, Professor, Texas A&M College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
- Grace Townsend, Instructional Associate Professor, Texas A&M University - Galveston
We are currently creating a process to facilitate faculty input to the investigative subcommittee. Details about how to participate in that process will be announced sometime next week.
Following the investigation, the executive committee will produce a report consisting of the following:
- A factually-supported explanation of the events that occurred
- Process-oriented recommendations to avoid similar actual or apparent challenges to academic freedom going forward
The creation of this investigative committee does not preclude additional actions from taking place on behalf of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
The failed hiring of McElroy came with major pushback from faculty, which even prompted José Luis Bermúdez, the interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, to resign. The events later led to the resignation of former university president M. Katherine Banks.
Recently, the university came under fire once again after Dr. Joy Alonzo was reported by a student that attended a routine lecture of hers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston for criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a lecture. Alonzo was later suspended while an investigation was launched into the matter, but she was later cleared of any wrongdoings.
More criticism came towards Texas A&M administration when it was revealed that Chancellor Sharp had been in direct contact with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at the time of the suspension. However, in a statement to The Texas Tribune, Texas A&M University System spokesperson Laylan Copelin said Sharp’s text to Patrick was a “typical update,” which also brought concerns from faculty as they worried about the influence of political leaders in higher education.
Also on KAGS: