COLLEGE STATION—Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the inaugural Civil Discourse Symposium at Texas A&M University sponsored by the Bush School of Government and Public Service.
According to local media, Bush School Dean John Sherman told the Board of Regents in January that they intended to spend between $400,000 and $800,000 on the event. A large portion of those expenses were to compensate the former vice president and to pay for his travel.
“Speaker’s fees are not cheap,” Sherman told the board.
“For Vice President Pence, it’s around $130,000 to $150,000,” he continued. “And we’re going to need to get a private jet.”
Texas Scorecard asked Texas A&M for a full accounting of costs related to Pence’s speech. A&M officials declined to provide the costs without a public information request, which has since been filed.
Pence’s speech Monday was the keynote in a series of events that also included appearances from U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R–Austin) and Henry Cuellar (D–Laredo).
A handful of students, faculty, and community members attended a small protest outside the event sponsored by the American Association of University Professors, a trade association for left-wing faculty.
Several protest speakers repeated the discredited hoax that Texas A&M censored Plato.
Martin Peterson, the professor who launched the hoax, told the crowd this would be his final event in Aggieland. Peterson recently accepted a position in AI ethics at Southern Methodist University.
Other speakers repeated familiar grievances related to “capitalism,” “Palestine,” and “privilege.” Another speaker expressed the desire to make Texas A&M a “safe space.”
The protest closed by calling for a “general strike” on May 1st, a communist holiday.
Texas A&M University is a component of the Texas A&M System. The TAMU System is overseen by a Board of Regents appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Robert Albritton of Fort Worth is the current board chair.
