Bill effects A&M System
Recent state legislation has members of the A&M-Kingsville student body worried of the fate about their studies and if the campus itself still aligns with their beliefs.
Texas Senate Bill 17(2023) rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout higher education including the Texas A&M University System. In addition, the passage of SB-37(2025) also took effect which outlines the role of academic senates and the approval and governance process for course content across Texas campuses. Professors are now subject to full audits of their current curricula, which strike down mentions of gender, sexual orientation, and, in some cases, race.
This roll-out follows recent news from Texas A&M University–College Station, where the Dean of Arts and Sciences and a professor were terminated after a student complained about being indoctrinated by a lesson on transgender visibility. The controversy led to the resignation of Texas A&M President Mark Welsch III.
“Students and faculty at Texas A&M protested on Sept. 22 at Academic Plaza at 6 p.m. in response to the resignation of former President Mark A. Welsh III, firing of former professor Melissa McCoul and removal of former Dean Mark Zoran of the College of Arts and Sciences and department head of English Emily Johansen from their positions,” reported by The Battalion, the student newspaper of A&M-College Station.
The student body of TAMU staged a protest the Senate bills passages and the resignation of the TAMU President, along with the termination of faculty members.
“Students and faculty need to work together to stop the damage before it’s too late,” Ph.D. and former A&M Associate Professor of anthropology Michael Allard said.
Kylie Valenta, a special education major at TAMUK, is concerned how DEI rollbacks will affect her education.
“As a special education student, I’m extremely concerned about DEI rollbacks as I’m worried I will not be able to learn the necessary information in order to properly service [students],” Valenta, a junior, said. “I have heard from other students that there are concerns about entire multicultural classes [losing] their content, and they have the same worry that they won’t be able to learn what they need to be successful. I would have considered another school, but the sad reality is that many schools are experiencing similar issues, and if I can do anything to speak about our campus I will because Kingsville students deserve quality.”
One TAMUK faculty member noted specific effects of the bills on this campus, mentioning that the Women and Gender Studies minor was ended out of an abundance of caution. The program was in a rebuilding cycle. The faculty member also added that this could be detrimental to any future academic hires, adding that prospective hires at other in-state universities have withdrawn applications because they no longer wanted to work in Texas.
The South Texan contacted former Faculty President-Elect Dr. Amit Verma via email for comment on the Senate bills, particularly for SB-37 which targeted faculty senates. Verma responded via email that the university no longer has a Faculty Senate, adding that there is “something else that’s still in the works.” Verma, who didn’t elaborate further, added “it’s now been replaced by Faculty Advisory Council. You should be hearing from the university directly with more details on this shortly.”
The South Texan contacted Marketing and Communications but received no comment by deadline.
TAMUK’s impacts surrounding the rollout is an ongoing story.
Update
The office of Marketing and Communications (MARCOM) at Texas A&M University Kingsville provided a comment shortly after publishing submission, providing a statement from the A&M System originally release August 28.
“In response to state law, the Board of Regents undertook a review of faculty senates to evaluate their roles within the System.
At this time, we revised System policy to replace these entities with faculty advisory councils. These groups will provide direct input to leadership in a manner that is transparent, forward-looking and aligned with our priorities.
We remain committed to faculty engagement, but we believe it must be structured to directly support our mission of educating students, conducting valuable research and meeting the needs of the state.”
MARCOM further added “TAMUK has already completed audits related to SB17.”