According to Texas Scorecard, the annual PhD Project Conference in Chicago promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) while excluding white and Asian students from attending – a direct violation of Texas law.
The conference was promoted to business school students and staff, with university President Mark Welch saying, "We need to be sure that attendance at those events is aligned with the very clear guidance we've been given by our governing bodies."
But because of pressure from Governor Greg Abbott (R), the trip has been canceled.
"It's against Texas law and violates the U.S. Constitution," Abbott noted on his X account earlier this week. "It will be fixed immediately, or the president will soon be gone."
Sherry Sylvester, of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, points out that the board of regents – not the president – runs the university.
"The regents are businesspeople, they're professional people," she notes. "They know what the curriculum needs to be to produce people who can get jobs and thrive. But President Welch has said he views the regents as an advisory group. He thinks he's in charge.”
Texas Values President Jonathan Saenz thinks this will help people realize that Texas A&M is no different from a lot of other large public universities.
"This whole issue is a huge embarrassment for Texas A&M University," he submits. "Texas A&M likes to hold itself out there as the more conservative, the more traditional large university; this whole dust-up with DEI pulls the curtain back."
Sylvester adds that accreditation reform for colleges and universities will be addressed in the state's upcoming legislative session. It will combat any DEI initiatives that are a condition for accreditation.
