Texas A&M professor fired, faculty members punished after gender studies uproar
A Texas A&M professor has been fired and two faculty members have been removed from their administrative leadership positions after a dispute over teaching LGBTQ+ content in a university course.
Texas A&M President Mark Welsh III announced the removals Monday night. The Star-Telegram learned the leaders are Mark Zoran, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Emily Johansen, head of the English Department. The university did not respond to a question asking if they are still employed in teaching capacities. Neither responded to a request for comment. On Tuesday, Welsh announced that senior lecturer Melissa McCoul had been fired.
A video shared by Texas Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican from Waxahachie, on Sept. 8 appears to have set in motion the moves.
In July, an A&M student recorded herself objecting to a lesson in a children’s literature course taught by McCoul that touched on gender identity.
McCoul did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As of noon Tuesday, Welsh’s announcement had been “liked” and “loved” by more than 19,000 Facebook users, and there were more than 4,000 comments, some praising the removals as a win against liberal indoctrination, others condemning the decision as an attack on free thought.
“Good,” Gov. Greg Abbott wrote in a post on X. “Now fire the professor who acted contrary to Texas law.”
In a Facebook post, a man who identified himself as a Texas A&M alumnus, wrote: “This is why we shouldn’t mix religion with government, we end up making the existence and acknowledgement of people’s lives illegal.”
A College Station resident wrote: “It’s refreshing to see a university president prioritize student needs and hold faculty accountable.”
According to Welsh’s announcement, the university removed Zoran and Johansen from their leadership roles because they “approved plans to continue teaching course content that was not consistent with the course’s published description.”
Some who have commented believe the dean and department head intentionally tried to conceal what was being taught.
In the original video, you can see a projection screen in McCoul’s classroom displaying the Gender Unicorn, a teaching tool used to talk about gender identity, gender expression and physical and emotional attraction.
“I’m not entirely sure this is legal to be teaching, because, according to our president, there’s only two genders,” the student is heard saying to McCoul in the video. “This also very much goes against, not only myself but a lot of people’s religious beliefs.”
The student goes on to say she wouldn’t participate in the discourse, appearing to cite an executive order signed by President Trump in January that says a person’s gender is “immutable” and not subject to fluidity. The student tells McCoul she doesn’t want to promote something that violates “our president’s laws.”
A Texas A&M spokesperson confirmed the names of the faculty members involved in the dispute, but said the president’s office had no further statement on the matter.
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 2:11 PM.