Former Texas A&M President Received $3.5M Exit Package

"When former Texas A&M University president Mark Welsh stepped down suddenly in September amid a swirling academic freedom controversy, he received an exit package of more than $3.5 million, according to public records obtained by The Texas Tribune. Welsh, who became president in 2023 after his predecessor, Kathy Banks, stepped down following a controversy of her own, pressed the Texas A&M System Board of Trustees to pay out the remainder of his contract through December 2028, according to recently unearthed records."

"Welsh was one of several Texas A&M employees felled by controversy after a conservative state lawmaker accused the university of pushing "leftist DEI and transgender indoctrination" following an exchange between a student and a professor caught on video. In that video, the student objected to a professor's statement that there are more than two genders. The incident, which the student captured, took place in a children's literature class."

"Welsh initially defended the professor in a conversation with the student but later backtracked, removing the professor and two administrators from their duties over their handling of the issue. He argued that the incident was not about academic freedom but rather "academic responsibility" and that "[the College of Arts and Sciences] continued to teach content that was inconsistent with the published course description for another course this fall," prompting his actions."

Mark Welsh stepped down suddenly in September amid an academic freedom controversy and received an exit package of more than $3.5 million. Welsh became president in 2023 and sought payment of his contract through December 2028; his compensation included a $1.1 million base salary and $150,000 annual retention and housing bonuses. The controversy followed a video of a student contesting a professor's statement that there are more than two genders in a children's literature class. Welsh initially defended the professor, then removed the professor and two administrators for their handling of the incident, citing 'academic responsibility.' Calls for Welsh's resignation continued despite his reversal.

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