Texas A&M University fired lecturer Melissa McCoul over academic freedom and gender identity debate.
The incident occurred on September 9, 2025, when a student objected to the lessons on gender identity citing religious beliefs and Trump’s executive order.
The entire scenario that occurred during a literature class was captured on the video and went viral on social media platforms.
This mounted immediate political pressure and intense backfires.
Governor Greg Abbott demanded the termination of the teacher. Writing on X (formerly known as Twitter), he described the decision of dismissal of the dean and head of department as “good” and further stated, “now, fire the professor who acted contrary to Texas law.”
Due to escalating political pressure, University President Mark A. Welsh III announced McCoul’s removal, stating, “I am reaching out today to follow up on a statement I distributed through social media yesterday regarding an ongoing issue with one of our 16,000 course sections. I directed the Provost to remove the College of Arts and Sciences Dean and English Department Head from their administrative positions.”
“This afternoon, following full consideration of the facts related to this situation, I directed the Provost to terminate the professor involved, effective immediately. Please understand that these decisions were mine alone and were not made lightly,” he added.
The incident also promoted the system-wide audit of courses to ensure compliance.
System Chancellor Glenn Hegar appreciated the decision to terminate all involved staff and stated that the action shows “insubordination and indoctrination have no place on our campus.”
The action has attracted widespread criticism from faculty advocacy groups who perceive it as a dangerous surrender to politics that would endanger the fundamental tenets of academic freedom.
It also points to the widening role of state legislative policies such as the Texas law barring DEI programs and SB 37, which gives regents greater authority over curricula, which have indicated a radical change in the control of public higher education.