Texas A&M settles with journalism professor for $1 million over failed hiring

KERA | By Katherine Hobbs,

Paul DeBenedetto

Published August 3, 2023 at 3:13 PM CDT

Texas A&M University has come under fire for suspending and then investigating a professor who spoke critically of Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick during a lecture on the opioid crisis last March.

Texas A&M has agreed to pay $1 million to a journalism professor over her treatment during a failed hiring process, the university system announced Thursday.

The settlement comes in the wake of an internal review by the university's Office of General Counsel, which found the university mishandled the hiring of Dr. Kathleen McElroy by changing her job offer after criticism from conservative groups over the professor's support for racial equity.

"Texas A&M acknowledges that mistakes were made during the hiring process relating to Dr. McElroy," a statement from the university reads. "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."

McElroy turned down the job to relaunch the school's journalism program after receiving the modified offer. In a statement Thursday, she wrote that she hoped the resolution would "reinforce A&M’s allegiance to excellence in higher education and its commitment to academic freedom and journalism.”

"Texas A&M University remains in my heart despite the events of the past month," McElroy said. "I will never forget that Aggies — students, faculty members, former students and staff — voiced support for me from many sectors."

This is a developing story and will be updated.