HOUSTON (AP) — 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 in a class on children’s literature.
The firing of Melissa McCoul, a senior lecturer in the English department with over a decade of teaching experience, came after political pressure from Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who had called for her termination.
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 on Monday. “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.”
“Dr. McCoul was fired in derogation of her constitutional rights and the academic freedom that was once the hallmark of higher education in Texas,” Reichek said.
Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh III said in a statement Tuesday 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 on Monday that this was not taking place.
“This isn’t about academic freedom; it’s about academic responsibility,” Welsh said.
In her statement, Reichek pushed back on Welsh’s claims that McCoul’s teaching did not match the course description.
“Professor McCoul’s course content was entirely consistent with the catalog and course description, and she was never instructed to change her course content in any way, shape, or form,” Reichek said. “In fact, Dr. McCoul taught this course and others like it for many years, successfully and without challenge.”
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 actions by Texas A&M were criticized by faculty and writers’ groups.
“We are witnessing the death of academic freedom in Texas, the remaking of universities as tools of authoritarianism that suppress free thought,” Jonathan Friedman, Sy Syms Managing Director of U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America, said in a statement.
The Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors said what happened at Texas A&M University should concern every Texan.
“Not only has the integrity of academic freedom come under fire, but the due process rights of a faculty member have been trampled at the urging of state politicians + the governor himself,” the group said in a statement.
The controversy began on Monday 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.
“If you are uncomfortable in this class you do have the right to leave. What we are doing is not illegal,” the professor said.
In her back-and-forth with the professor, the student mentioned an executive order that President Donald Trump signed earlier this year in which he said “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.”
A Texas law took effect on Sept. 1 that forbids Texas K-12 schools from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity. The law does not apply to universities and other institutions of higher education.
Texas A&M is located in College Station, about 95 miles (153 kilometers) northwest of Houston.
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