COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Hundreds of Texas A&M University students gathered Friday to say goodbye to President Mark Welsh on his final day leading the university.
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Students assembled outside the administration building on campus to give Welsh a sendoff just hours before his tenure as president ended at 5 p.m.
"I'm grateful we had so many students here, so grateful that we were able to wish him well," said Carter Mallory, student body president at Texas A&M University.
It was a bittersweet Friday for Aggies saying goodbye to their leader.
"He shows up for us and he embodies the Aggie core values, even though he's not an Aggie himself, he definitely is the true example of what an Aggie should be," said Caroline McCall, a senior at Texas A&M University.
"He always put the focus on students, others, service to his country, to the student body, to the university," said Kathleen Parks, student body vice president at Texas A&M University.
Just hours before his tenure as president was set to end, Welsh delivered a "Thank you and Gig 'em" statement Friday morning, singling out "our unbelievable students."
"You make this university whole. You give it a pulse. You bring it light. Thank you for constantly reminding me that living our Core Values lays the foundation for a life of value. Thanks for showing me that respecting others is the front door to a respected life," Welsh said.
His resignation comes after a viral video surfaced of a confrontation between a student and a teacher over transgender-related content in a children's literature class.
Texas Senator Paul Bettencourt shared in a statement: "The fact that students, faculty, staff, and the Board of Trustees, etc... all heard different versions of these stories' 'truth' is simply unsustainable in this modern, frothy social media driven environment. 'Consistency' should be the hallmark of campus leadership, not its bane."
This is the second immediate resignation by an A&M president in two years.
"I'm not really sure where the Board of Regents goes from here. I hope that they'll keep the student body in mind in every decision that they make," McCall said.
The attention turns now to what's next for university leadership.
"We're looking forward to being a part of the search for the next president and hoping he has the same character and desire to work with students as President Welsh did," Parks said.
In the coming days, the Board of Regents will initiate a national search for a permanent president and appoint an interim president. The hope is to have as seamless a transition as possible.
Below is the rest of Bettencourt's statement, along with two other statements from Friday that 15 ABC received about the resignation of President Welsh.
Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) released the following statement:
“The immediate resignation by Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh is now the 2nd in 2 years, which means Texas A&M will have its 3rd President in just three years.
The commonality in both these personnel driven situations of hiring or firing at an Aggie academic institution is that it is essential for the person in charge to have the same “story” at the beginning of the problem as at the end. The fact that students, faculty, staff, and the Board of Trustees, etc... all heard different versions of these stories’ “truth” is simply unsustainable in this modern, frothy social media driven environment.
“Consistency” should be the hallmark of campus leadership, not its bane.
Over the last two sessions, the Texas Legislature has made it clear statewide that DEI activities will not continue. Faculty Senates will now operate as advisory groups as they were originally intended to be. They’re not the Texas Senate and cannot write the rules of institutional governance, as the Board of Trustees has to do by law.
Therefore, it’s clear that the next leader of Texas A&M University’s flagship main campus must gather together all of our teaching and research assets this great Nationally Ranked University has, and help propel all of us forward into Texas A&M’s 150th anniversary and beyond!
— Senator Paul Bettencourt ’80”
Glenn Hegar, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, shared the following message:
Dear Aggies,
Yesterday, General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III informed me that he will step down from his role as President of Texas A&M University effective at 5pm today. I want to thank him for his dedicated service to our beloved university and the nation. General Welsh is a man of honor, character, and integrity. We should all thank him for his long career of leadership.
As Texas A&M University stands poised to celebrate 150 years of success built on values and tradition, I am confident those values and traditions will provide the foundation for our next 150 years of success and service. We have absolutely amazing students, the strongest alumni of any university, and tremendous opportunities ahead. The coming days will be difficult, yet the future of Texas A&M University is extremely bright. Texas A&M remains strong and focused on its mission to our students, our research, and service to others.
An interim president will be named shortly, and the work of our faculty, staff, and students continues without interruption. In the meantime, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. James Hallmark, will briefly serve as acting president.
Thank you for your commitment to Texas A&M and to one another during this transition.
With appreciation,
Glenn Hegar
Chancellor, The Texas A&M University System
The Pride Community Center shared the following statement:
Pride Community Center is disappointed with the extreme political interference that led to the ousting of Mark Welsh. We condemn the actions taken in the last couple of weeks, which have resulted in the senseless firing of Professor Melissa McCoul and the demotions of other senior leaders in the College of Arts and Sciences. We recognize that in a world where Social Media has formed a new court of “Public Opinion,” a select few have threatened the integrity of Texas A&M as an institution that protects academic freedom and LGBTQIA+ Aggies. A political climate rooted in ignorance, hate and violence not only endangers LGBTQIA+ students, faculty and staff, but also poses a threat to the broader Aggie community and academics in general. These are things that are truly in opposition to the values of Texas A&M: Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity and Selfless Service. They are also against the values of Pride Community Center.
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