Susan Ballabina takes charge of the state’s largest public university after previous leaders faced political backlash.

Melissa McCoul, arguing she was fired to appease political critics, is seeking to get her job back and other restitution.

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.

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.

Some students and professors say recent changes and scandals chill speech at universities. Others argue that conservative opinions can now be shared more freely.

Williams replaces former president Mark A. Welsh III, who resigned amid the fallout over a viral video showing an A&M student confronting a professor over a gender-identity discussion.

Details of the agreement with Mark A. Welsh III, who resigned as leader of the flagship university on Sept. 19, will not be revealed until it is finalized.

Texas A&M University’s president is stepping down amid a controversy roiling the campus.

Officials have struggled to detail the exact reasons for the A&M professor’s termination, citing a technical issue with her course description. Faculty say the move was politically motivated.

Calls for Welsh’s ousting intensified over his handling of a student’s complaints about gender identity discussions in a children’s literature class.

Some lawmakers have called for Welsh to be fired over his handling of a student’s complaints about gender identity content being taught in a children’s literature class.

The firing happened over two years after Texas A&M stressed its support for academic freedom and amid a changing higher education landscape.

An attorney for Melissa McCoul, seen in a video clashing with a student over gender-identity content in her class, said the professor is weighing her legal options.

After the video fueled outrage, a professor was fired and two college leaders removed from their administrative roles for approving content inconsistent with the course’s description.

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents named the former dean and four-star general as the sole finalist for president Friday. Many believe Welsh is the right person to move the university forward after a pair of controversies bruised the school’s morale.

A&M System Chancellor John Sharp will recommend Welsh, a retired Air Force general, as the sole finalist for the job at a Board of Regents meeting later this week. Welsh has held the position in the interim since July.

Mark Welsh said that Texas A&M will stay the course on many controversial changes made by former President Kathy Banks. Professors welcomed Welsh’s commitment to faculty input moving forward.

In his first comments as interim president, Mark A. Welsh IIII cast recent concerns over political interference in Texas A&M’s employment decisions as “communication breakdowns.”

The board also gave university lawyers the green light to negotiate a possible settlement with Kathleen McElroy after the university bungled the hiring of the journalism professor.

The system’s board also plans to formally appoint an interim president after Katherine Banks resigned last week following news that the school changed its job offer to Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalism professor, after outcries from conservative groups.

“The recent challenges regarding Dr. McElroy have made it clear to me that I must retire immediately,” Banks wrote in her resignation letter. “The negative press is a distraction from the wonderful work being done here.”