July 24th 2023.
Texas A&M University has recently found itself in hot water after announcing the hiring of veteran journalist Dr. Kathleen McElroy as the director of their new journalism department. On June 13, the university made a formal announcement introducing McElroy to faculty and students, stating that she had over forty years of experience in journalism.
The news of McElroy's hiring seemed to signal a bright future for the long-defunct degree, and Dr. McElroy herself expressed excitement over the prospect of launching the program. Unfortunately, the university soon changed its offer to her, reducing it from a tenured position to a one-year, at-will contract.
This move was met with criticism, particularly due to Dr. McElroy being a Black woman and her focus on race and journalism in her doctoral program at UT Austin. In light of the controversy, both the university president, Katherine Banks, and interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, José Luis Bermúdez, resigned.
In a letter to faculty, Banks said “The negative press is a distraction from the wonderful work being done here.” Bermudez echoed her sentiment in his own letter, saying, “I feel in the light of controversy surrounding recent communications with Dr. Kathleen McElroy that this is the best thing that I can do to preserve the great things that we have achieved over the last year in creating the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M.”
The failed hiring of Dr. McElroy has caused a rift between Texas A&M and the rest of the academic community. It remains to be seen how the university will recover from this scandal, and how it will move forward with its plans to revive its journalism program.
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