The president of a major Texas university is stepping down on Friday after being accused of tolerating ‘transgender indoctrination’ at the public school.
The resignation of Mark Welsh as head of Texas A&M University comes amid a conservative crackdown on higher education by the administration of President Donald Trump.
‘President Welsh is a man of honor who has led Texas A&M with selfless dedication,’ university chancellor Glenn Hegar said in a statement that did not address the reasons for his departure.
‘At the same time, we agree that now is the right moment to make a change and to position Texas A&M for continued excellence in the years ahead,’ Hegar added.
Welsh's resignation comes after a video went viral of a ‘whistleblower’ student confronting a professor over the teaching of ‘gender ideology’ in a children's literature class.
In the hidden camera video, the student is heard telling the professor, ‘I'm not entirely sure this is legal to be teaching because according to our president there's only two genders.’
‘I don't want to promote something that is against our president's laws as well as against my religious beliefs,’ the unidentified student adds.
The professor responds that what she is teaching is not illegal and ‘if you are uncomfortable in this class, you do have the right to leave.’
Trump, on his first day in the White House, signed an executive order saying ‘It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.’
The video went viral after it was posted online by a Texas state lawmaker, Brian Harrison, who called it a case of ‘transgender indoctrination’ and urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to fire both the professor and Welsh.
Harrison also released an audio recording in which the student confronts Welsh and asks him to dismiss the professor.
‘That's not happening,’ Welsh responds, although he did later fire the professor.
Welsh, a former four-star US Air Force general, took the helm of Texas A&M in 2023.
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