Mark Welsh III’s two-year tenure as president of Texas A&M University was marked with political controversies.
Nicholas Gutteridge
Nicholas Gutteridge was a reporting fellow based in College Station. He was a senior studying political science at Texas A&M University and was editor-in-chief of The Battalion, the student newspaper. Prior to that, he interned at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. with the U.S. Air Force Office of Public Affairs, worked on the Mays Business School's marketing and communications team, and reported for KAMU, the public radio station in Brazos County. Nicholas won the 2024 reporter of the year award from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and has earned multiple accolades for investigative reporting. He grew up in Los Fresnos in South Texas. Read Articles by Nicholas Gutteridge
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Higher Education
How the political tide turned on Mark Welsh, the four-star general ousted as Texas A&M president
The A&M Board of Regents came to want a more explicitly conservative leader who would shut down controversy before it reared its head, as members grew weary from the steady drumbeat of online posts accusing the university of embracing liberal ideology.
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State Government
In rare move, Texas AG sues state board to end work-study programs
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit claims three state work-study programs are unconstitutional because they exclude religious organizations.
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Higher Education
Texas A&M system approves policy to restrict faculty from advocating “race and gender ideology”
Faculty are also prohibited from teaching material inconsistent with approved syllabi. The changes come in response to a recent controversy over gender identity classroom discussions.
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2025 Texas Elections
Texans approve $850 million endowment for Texas State Technical College
The funds will help the workforce training institution fix campus infrastructure and expand its footprint at a time when the state has seen a decline in skilled workers in some fields.
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Higher Education
Texas A&M paid former president Mark A. Welsh III $3.5 million after he resigned
Welsh had pushed for a full payout of the remainder of his contract, something that appears to have been a source of tension between Welsh and top administrators, records show.
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Graphics and data reporting
New data shows 1 in 4 ICE arrests happened in Texas under Trump’s immigration crackdown
ICE agents are arresting more immigrants on the streets and at routine check-ins than under President Biden. But most of them don’t have criminal convictions despite pledges to pursue “the worst of the worst.”
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Higher Education
Texas higher education enrollment reaches all-time high
Student enrollment at Texas colleges topped 1.6 million as of fall 2025, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
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Higher Education
Gov. Greg Abbott names head of new office to investigate higher ed complaints
Supporters say the office will bring needed accountability to Texas universities, while faculty groups have said that, without due process protections, it is ripe for abuse.
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Higher Education
Texas A&M regents name Christian Hardigree president of newly acquired Victoria campus
System Chancellor Glenn Hegar and the Board of Regents chair have stood by the new president amid criticism from some conservatives about her previous work around diversity and equity.