Gov. Greg Abbott threatens Texas A&M president’s job over claim that university broke DEI

"Gov. Greg Abbott threatens Texas A&M president’s job over claim that university broke DEI ban" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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Gov. Greg Abbott threatened Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III’s job over claims the university broke the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The threat came after conservative activist Christopher Rufo shared a university email inviting some staffers and PhD students to attend a conference that limited participation to people who are Black, Hispanic or Native American.

On Monday, someone asked Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton on social media whether they were going to tolerate the behavior.

“Hell, no,” Abbott replied hours later on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It’s against Texas law and violates the U.S. Constitution. It will be fixed immediately or the president will soon be gone.”

The A&M email said the university’s general counsel had confirmed that the conference complied with the state’s DEI ban.

Senate Bill 17, which took effect last year, prohibits public universities not only from having DEI offices, but from compelling any person to provide a DEI statement or undergo DEI training and giving preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.

On Tuesday, Welsh released a statement that the university “will continue to honor both the letter and intent of the law.”

“Texas A&M does not support any organization, conference, process or activity that excludes people based on race, creed, gender, age or any other discriminating factor,” the statement said. “The intent of SB-17 is very clear in that regard.”

This is a developing story; check back for details.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/14/texas-greg-abbott-am-mark-welsh-dei/.

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