Texas A&M committee says firing of professor over gender lesson was unjustified
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Texas A&M committee ruled that the university’s decision to fire a professor was unfair after he was removed from class for objecting to a children’s literature course about gender identity.
A video recorded by a female student earlier this year appears to ask Melissa McCoul, a senior lecturer in the English department, if it is legal to teach gender ideology, pointing to President Donald Trump’s executive orders to remove the subject from higher education.
The internal committee determined that the university did not follow proper procedures and did not prove there was good cause for McCoul’s termination. The committee voted unanimously this week that “the summary dismissal of Dr. McCoul was not justified.”
In a statement from the university, it was stated that interim President Tommy Williams had received the committee’s non-binding recommendation and would make a decision after reviewing it.
Texas Lawmaker slams Texas A&M after student allegedly removed from class for challenging transgender lecture
The internal committee ruled that the university did not follow proper procedures and did not prove there was a valid reason to terminate the professor’s employment. (AP)
McCoul’s attorney, Amanda Reichek, said the dispute will likely end up in court because the university appears to want to continue fighting and the interim president faces similar political pressure.
“Dr. McCoul argues that the flimsy reasons A&M gave for his termination are an excuse for the University’s true motivation: surrendering to Governor Abbott’s demands,” Reichek said in a statement.
Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans had called for him to be fired after watching the video.
“Fire the professor who violated Texas law,” the governor wrote to X in September.
The video led to public criticism of the university’s president, Mark Welsh, who later resigned; However, he did not provide any justification and made no mention of the video in his resignation announcement.
Governor Greg Abbott and other Republicans called for the professor to be fired after watching the video. (Pictured via Mike Kemp/Getty Images)
State Representative Brian Harrison told Fox News Digital at the time that “the liberal president of Texas A&M should be fired and all DEI and LGBTQ brainwashing should be defunded.”
At the opening of the video Harrison posted on social media, a slide titled “Gender Unicorn” was shown, drawing attention to different gender identities and expressions.
Students in the class told The Texas Tribune they were discussing a book about a non-binary middle school student called “Jude Saves the World.” Some other books in the course also touched on LGBTQ+ issues.
After a back-and-forth debate over the legality of holding gender identity classes, McCoul asked the student to leave the classroom. Harrison also released other recordings of the student’s meeting with Welsh that showed the then-university president defending McCoul’s instruction.
TEXAS A&M REQUESTS AUDIT OF ALL COURSES AFTER TRANSGENDER COURSES CONCUSSION
President Donald Trump signed executive orders aimed at rooting out gender identity mandates in higher education. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Welsh said that when McCoul was fired, he learned that he continued to teach content in his children’s literature class that was “incompatible with reasonable expectations of the standard curriculum for the course.” He also said the course content did not match the catalog descriptions.
“We would disappoint our students if we allow course content to be taught that differs from what is advertised. When it comes to our academic offerings, we must keep our promise to our students and the state of Texas,” he said in September, noting that leaders in the College of Arts and Sciences were found to have approved plans to continue teaching course content that was not consistent with the published description of the course.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Earlier this month, the Texas A&M Regents issued a new policy stating that no academic courses “shall advocate race or gender ideology or issues related to sexual orientation or gender identity” unless approved in advance by a campus president.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Texas A&M for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
