Texas A&M’s Board of Regents officially named Mark Welsh as president of the university on Tuesday.
Welsh has faced criticism over the past several months for his support of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles, his belief in white privilege, and his past position serving as an Obama-appointee to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Despite Welsh’s support for ideologies that embroiled Texas A&M in a scandal over the summer, the Texas A&M Board of Regents has appointed him as the new president of the flagship university in College Station.
Background
Texas A&M attempted to hire and then scaled back an employment offer for a DEI-promoting professor, who eventually turned down the job, and ultimately the former president resigned over the scandal.
Welsh, who had been the dean of TAMU’s Bush School of Government and Public Service since 2016, was appointed interim president.
He retired from the U.S. Air Force as a four-star general and Obama appointee to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
As dean, Welsh supported DEI initiatives; he has expressed support for the leftist ideology as recently as August.
Current
The Texas A&M Board of Regents released the following statement regarding Welsh’s appointment as president.
“The board is certain that General Welsh will make a Texas-sized impact as President of our world-class flagship,” Chairman Bill Mahomes said. “His remarkable career embodies Aggie core values. Now his mission is to raise Texas A&M’s national stature in research, education, and student experience.”
“It has been an unbelievable privilege to represent Texas A&M as Interim President over the last few months — one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Welsh. “I’m grateful to the Board of Regents and Chancellor Sharp for their confidence in me, and I look forward to continuing to work with our incredible faculty, staff, and students to map out the road ahead for Texas A&M. I’m ready to get started.”
Texas A&M is overseen by a board of regents, who are appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott and confirmed by the Texas Senate.
