The Fall of Mark Welsh

It’s about the domination of every social and political institution:

During the short meeting at the Texas Capitol, Abbott peppered Welsh with questions about the comments Texas Scorecard had dug up, and about Welsh’s views on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Abbott was apparently unsatisfied by Welsh’s answers, according to five people briefed on the encounter. “There’s no doubt the governor was looking for somebody that was conservative in nature, and I think that he felt that maybe Mark was not as conservative as he was hoping he would be,” Albritton said.

But the regents felt Welsh was the right leader for the moment. They wanted a steady leader who could calm the waters after a tumultuous summer of back-to-back personnel scandals that led Welsh’s predecessor to resign.

Over the next two years, Welsh repaired relationships with many students, faculty, and alumni. But the skepticism about the “Obama appointee” and his conservative bona fides never went away. This September, a video was posted on social media of a student confronting a professor over the teaching of gender identity at Texas A&M. Welsh defended the professor privately to the student, which was also caught on tape, setting off right-wing outrage. Soon after, Albritton, who is now chair of the board, called Welsh to tell him he could either resign or be fired.

But Welsh wasn’t pushed out over that incident alone. He was in many ways a victim of circumstance — a rapidly changing political tide, an increasingly watchful Board of Regents working in lockstep with state leaders, and expectations that seemingly changed overnight about the role of higher-education leadership and academic freedom.

If anything, Welsh suffered from not being political enough.

It’s long but worthwhile with respect to the collision between far right politics and the university system. Administrators in red states have been lying to themselves and to faculty about the importance of a Strong, Independent University System Because Innovation and the Economy and So Forth, and faculty have too often been willing to believe because it was in their interest to believe.

In other news, at UK we’ll be needing to pay professional dues out of pocket because reasons:

The University of Kentucky is reviewing about 1,200 memberships and partnerships with outside organizations for potential removal, as part of a federal investigation from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Earlier this year, UK was investigated by the Office for Civil Rights, and found to have violated the federal Civil Rights Act, for participating in The PhD Project’s annual conference, designed for students of color completing their doctoral degrees. UK was one of more than 50 universities being investigated. UK severed its relationship with The PhD Project after the investigation was announced. As part of a resolution with the Department of Education, UK had to identify any organization the university had a partnership with or affiliation with that “may restrict participation based on race.”