Texas A&M Reaches $1M Settlement With Professor Who Received Backlash Over Her Diversity-Related Work

She also shared that her offer went from a tenure-track position to a one-year contract, which gave her no job security and left her open to potentially being fired within the timeframe. The demotion was said to have been pushed by Texas A&M University President Katherine Banks and a school dean, according to AP News reports. But Banks later told faculty that the changes to McElroy’s contract offer had not come from her. After the demotion, McElroy declined the offer and returned to her tenured position at the University of Texas at Austin.

“I feel damaged by this entire process,”  McElroy said, according to the outlet. “I’m being judged by race, maybe gender. And I don’t think other folks would face the same bars or challenges. And it seems that my being an Aggie, wanting to lead an Aggie program to what I thought would be prosperity, wasn’t enough.”

Once the news circulated, Banks put in her resignation as president and the university began an investigation.