Texas A&M cancels conference trip excluding white, Asian students after backlash from governor
Texas A&M University suspended upcoming conference travel after Gov. Greg Abbott discovered that only applicants of certain races could attend.
On Monday, conservative activist Christopher Rufo posted a photo of the university promoting its doctoral program’s annual conference in Chicago. The application states that the conference is “designed for historically underrepresented individuals considering business doctoral studies” and is only available to Black/African Americans, Latinx/Hispanic Americans or Native Americans/Indigenous Canadians Students are eligible.
“Texas A&M is sponsoring a trip to a DEI conference that bans whites and Asians from attending. The university falsely claims that this use of taxpayer funds does not violate the state’s DEI ban. @TAMU supports segregation, which is Illegal,” Rufo wrote.
The post was finally brought to Abbott’s attention Monday night, and he threatened the university president’s job security if the matter was not corrected.
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“Oh my gosh, no. This violates Texas law and it violates the U.S. Constitution. It will be addressed immediately or the president will be out of office soon,” Abbott warned.
The university eventually issued a statement on its
“Texas A&M University does not support any organization, meeting, process or activity that excludes others based on race, creed, gender, age or any other discriminatory factor. SB-17’s intent in this regard is clear. We will continue to respect whatever the law The literal meaning or the intent of the law,” the post read.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, university President Mark A. Wales III acknowledged the questionable application and acknowledged that the conference itself was “not in compliance” with state law and canceled the trip entirely.
“While the appropriate process for reviewing and approving participation in such an event was followed, I do not believe we fully considered the spirit of state law when making our initial decision to participate,” the statement read. Restrictions on attendee race are inconsistent with the intent of SB-17, and therefore, we will not be sending anyone to this meeting.”
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Wells continued, “Texas A&M faculty and staff attend hundreds, if not thousands, of meetings and other events during each academic year. We need to ensure that participation in these events is consistent with the guidelines that we have been very clear about .” given by our governing body.
The statement was sent to Mays Business School faculty.
Texas A&M University responds to Governor Abbott’s threats by canceling upcoming conference travel. (Ronda Churchill/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Photo by Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital also reached out to the governor’s office for comment.
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The annual meeting of PhD programs, established by the Research and Doctoral Career Pathways (PREDOC) consortium, will be held in March. PREDOC’s website describes the application process as “exclusive” and “designed specifically for historically underrepresented individuals considering business doctoral studies.”
