More heads roll at Texas A&M as president resigns over ‘gender unicorn’ outcry

Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh has stepped down following an uproar over his handling of a student’s complaint about an English professor caught teaching the “gender unicorn.”

His resignation, effective 5 p.m. Friday, comes after the Sept. 8 release of an undercover video showing the professor booting the unnamed female student out of a children’s literature class after she said the lesson violated President Trump’s executive order recognizing only two sexes.

Under pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott, Mr. Welsh fired senior lecturer Melissa McCoul and demoted two administrators responsible for approving the content.

Even so, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick insisted that the public system should continue investigating the A&M president’s initial response to the student’s complaint.

In a statement Friday morning, the outgoing president thanked the College Station campus, noting that he promised to serve “until it was time for someone else to take over” when he took office in 2023.

“Over the past few days, it’s become clear that now is that time,” Mr. Welsh said in the statement, which did not reference the gender-identity turmoil.

Texas A&M University System officials first announced the resignation on Thursday night.

“President Welsh is a man of honor who has led Texas A&M with selfless dedication. We are grateful for his service and contributions,” Chancellor Glenn Hegar, a former GOP state lawmaker, said in a statement. “At the same time, we agree that now is the right moment to make a change and to position Texas A&M for continued excellence in the years ahead.”

The system’s Board of Regents will name an interim president to replace Mr. Welsh and launch a national search for a permanent leader.

State Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican and Texas A&M alumnus who circulated the viral video of Ms. McCoul’s class online, took a victory lap on social media.

“WE DID IT! TEXAS A&M PRESIDENT IS OUT!!” Mr. Harrison, who led calls for Mr. Welsh’s ouster, wrote in a Thursday night post on X.

Mr. Harrison’s social media posts this month also included an audio recording of a meeting between the student and Mr. Welsh about her ejection from the summer education class.

In the recording, a man identified as Mr. Welsh becomes exasperated with the student, saying, “You’re trying to pick a fight here” and “Tell us what you’re looking for. What do you expect us to do [about the professor]? Fire her?”

When the student replies, “Yes, absolutely,” he replies, “Well, that’s not happening.”

State Republicans accused Mr. Welsh of changing his tune and firing the professor only after the governor’s office called on him to do so.

“His ambivalence on the issue and his dismissal of the student’s concerns by immediately taking the side of the professor is unacceptable,” Mr. Patrick said in a Sept. 11 statement.

Mr. Welsh said previously that the children’s literature course was flagged over the summer for including content that “did not align with any reasonable expectation of standard curriculum for the course,” and that it was made clear the content must align with the catalog description.

“However, I learned late yesterday that despite that directive, the college continued to teach content that was inconsistent with the published course description for another course this fall,” Mr. Welsh said in a Sept. 9 statement. “As a result, I took the above administrative actions, and deans and department heads will conduct an audit of course offerings to ensure they align with the course descriptions.”

On social media, Mr. Harrison posted course material pages titled “Let’s talk gender in children’s lit!” and “Queer History and Moral Maturation in Young Adult Literature and the AIDS Crisis.”

“Why talk about queerness at all?” asked one instructional item from the class. “Isn’t that way too ’adult’ for little kids? Well, no.”

The “gender unicorn,” created by Trans Student Educational Resources, shows a purple unicorn cartoon next to a sliding scale that students can use to gauge attributes such as their “gender identity” and “gender expression.”

Meanwhile, Ms. McCoul has appealed her termination and is exploring possible legal action, accusing Texas A&M of violating her constitutional rights, contractual agreement and academic freedom.

“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,” Amanda Reichek, her attorney, said in a statement to KBTX-TV, a station in Bryan, Texas. “In fact, Dr. McCoul taught this course and others like it for many years, successfully and without challenge.”

Some academic freedom advocates and Texas A&M professors have taken the professor’s side, arguing that her firing was an unjust suppression of free speech.

“Governor Greg Abbott and Texas lawmakers’ clamor for the dismissal of professors who say things they disagree with amounts to government thought policing,” the American Association of University Professors said in a Sept. 11 statement. “Partisan intrusion into the classroom is censorship and fundamentally antithetical to academic freedom and the mission of higher education.”