(Texas Tribune) — Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh III will resign after more than a week of turmoil sparked by a viral video of a student confronting a professor over gender content in a children’s literature course, the Texas A&M University System announced Thursday.
The video, along with an audio recording of Welsh initially refusing to fire professor Melissa McCoul, first circulated online on Sept. 8 after state Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, shared it on the social media platform X.
Welsh fired McCoul a day later, but the move did not satisfy Harrison or Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who did not think Welsh handled the situation properly.
“His ambivalence on the issue and his dismissal of the student’s concerns by immediately taking the side of the professor is unacceptable,” Patrick posted on X last week, adding that “this is not the first instance of a lack of confidence in President Welsh’s leadership.”
Welsh’s resignation comes amid a broader campaign by Republican leaders to tighten control of curricula, hiring and speech at the state’s public universities.
In January, Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to fire Welsh after the university’s business school invited advanced PhD students and faculty to a conference designed to recruit Black, Hispanic and Indigenous graduate students. After the threat, Welsh said Texas A&M would pull out of the conference completely.
Abbott cannot fire university presidents, but he appoints the members of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, who do have that authority. Patrick acknowledged on Thursday that those employment decisions rest with the regents and new Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar.
“Most parents, students, and Aggie alumni expect Texas A&M to reflect the values of our state and our nation as well as A&M’s rich history. If President Welsh will not or cannot reflect those values, then change needs to happen,” Patrick said in his X post last week.
On Wednesday, top faculty members and the university’s student government sent letters to Hegar and the board of regents supporting Welsh.
One letter was signed by Texas A&M’s Executive Committee of the University Distinguished Professors, which is composed of 12 distinguished professors, the highest achievement a faculty member can earn at the university.
“All members of this Committee write this letter collectively to strongly urge you to retain President Mark Welsh in the wake of recent events,” the letter reads.
The other letter, signed by dozens of current and former student leaders, said Welsh carries “a steadfast love and stewardship for our University, one that inspires our faith and confidence in his leadership.” The student leaders added that they “stand united in support of his leadership.”
Welsh, a retired four-star general, former chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force and the former dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service, became president in 2023. Former President M. Katherine Banks had resigned following the botched hiring of journalism professor Kathleen McElroy, whose offer of employment was watered down after regents became concerned about her work on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Welsh initially stepped in as interim president while the university launched a national search for Banks’ replacement. Four months later, then Chancellor John Sharp recommended Welsh be named as permanent president, forgoing the national search.
“The Board is confident in General Welsh’s abilities to take Texas A&M to even greater heights,” Regent Bill Mahomes, who was then serving as board chair, said in a press release at the time. “Everything points to him being the perfect person for this pivotal moment in the history of our beloved flagship.”
Welsh was welcomed by many faculty and students, who said he provided a much-needed steady hand during times of uncertainty. They lauded him for seeking out their input, clearly explaining his decision-making and being transparent about university operations.
“General Welsh has almost uniform positive evaluations from those who know him, who worked with him, who agree with him, who disagree with him,” medical professor Mark Sicilio said at the time.
Nicholas Gutteridge contributed to this story.
The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.
Disclosure: Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University System have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/18/texas-am-university-president-mark-welsh-resigns/.
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