A journalism professor who was involved in a controversy that rocked Texas A&M reached a settlement of $1 million with the university after it reneged on its initial offer.
Over the summer, black journalist Kathleen McElroy was hired to lead the school’s journalism program. Shortly after, she came under fire due to her work and advocacy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. She backed out of the job after the school renegotiated her contract, which she felt was watered down. On Thursday, the school announced that it had reached a settlement of $1 million with McElroy, as well as an official apology.
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“Texas A&M acknowledges that mistakes were made during the hiring process relating to Dr. McElroy. The leadership of Texas A&M apologizes to Dr. McElroy for the way her employment application was handled, has learned from its mistakes and will strive to ensure similar mistakes are not repeated in the future,” the school said in a joint statement with McElroy, CNN reported.
Also in the statement was McElroy’s announcement that she would be returning as a tenured professor.
“Texas A&M University remains in my heart despite the events of the past month. I will never forget that Aggies — students, faculty members, former students and staff — voiced support for me from many sectors,” she said. “I hope the resolution of my matter will reinforce A&M’s allegiance to excellence in higher education and its commitment to academic freedom and journalism.”
The controversy over the handling of McElroy’s hiring resulted in the resignation of the college’s president, M. Katherine Banks, who was accused of misleading staff as to the handling of the situation.
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Interim President Mark A. Welsh III also apologized on Wednesday, in his first public appearance since taking the role, promising clearer guidelines.
“It was a decision that was not guided by any specific policy and guidance that we have in our system right now,” he said. “We need to fix that so that we can make sure we do this in a thoughtful way with better support for the decision-maker and for Dr. Alonzo.”
