Texas A&M University’s president said he ordered the removal of a college dean and department head after learning that course content did not match the class description, a move that followed a viral video shared by a state lawmaker showing a student being removed after challenging transgender-related material.
In a post on X, Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican, shared footage he said showed a student being kicked out of a children’s literature class after objecting to what he described as "transgender indoctrination" and "DEI" content. Harrison urged Gov. Greg Abbott to act and called for firings and defunding of diversity, equity and inclusion and LGBTQ programs.
University President Mark A. Welsh III addressed the controversy in a statement on the university’s X account, saying he learned that "key leaders in the College of Arts and Sciences approved plans to continue teaching course content that was not consistent with the course’s published description." Welsh said he directed the provost to remove the dean and department head from their administrative positions, effective immediately.
Harrison told Fox News Digital that a Texas A&M student whistleblower provided video evidence showing the student was removed after objecting to persistent transgender and DEI material. In his post, Harrison included a clip recorded by a female student who interrupted a lecturer and asked whether it was legal to be teaching "gender ideology," citing former President Donald Trump’s executive orders, according to the lawmaker.
Harrison said in a letter to Abbott that students were "forced to learn the ‘gender unicorn,’ which propagandizes extreme transgender ideology," and accused the professor of encouraging what he called "criminal child grooming" by distributing materials suggesting childhood is a time to explore gender. Those allegations were made by Harrison and were included in his public statements; the university has described the issue as a mismatch between advertised and delivered course content.
Welsh framed his directive to remove the administrators as a response to the need for alignment between advertised course descriptions and classroom instruction, saying students use the course catalog to make decisions about their degree paths and that the university must "keep our word to our students and to the state of Texas." The university did not release the video clip or provide detailed public accounting of the classroom exchange beyond the statement from the president.
Gov. Abbott posted on X that the professor involved should be fired. Harrison said he has filed 14 pieces of legislation aimed at ending taxpayer funding of DEI and LGBTQ programs and that those measures were blocked in the Texas House; he is urging the governor to call a special legislative session to advance those bills.
The episode comes amid an ongoing statewide and national debate in recent years over the role of DEI initiatives, academic curricula dealing with gender and sexuality, and public funding for university programs. Texas lawmakers have previously advanced measures restricting certain classroom content and university policies, and the dispute at Texas A&M has drawn attention from elected officials and media outlets.
The university referred media inquiries to Welsh’s public statement. The lawmaker’s office circulated the video clip on social media and called for broader action against what he characterized as ideological instruction at public universities. Texas A&M’s decision to remove the college leaders from administrative roles leaves open questions about next steps, including any personnel reviews, potential changes to course approvals and whether further state action will follow.
