COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M's interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, José Bermúdez, announced Monday night via email that he has decided to step aside from his current role, citing the controversy surrounding recent communications with Kathleen McElroy.
"Dr. Bermudez has an incredibly high reputation at the University and he is an individual of great integrity," Texas A&M Journalism Professor, Nathan Crick said. "He keeps to his word and when he makes a promise he holds to it, and I think that his stepping down from this position is indicative of that integrity."
This comes just a week after news broke of people within the university system expressing concerns with McElroy's work on race and diversity in newsrooms eventually causing her to resend her resignation and plan to return to the University of Texas.
"I think most people feel devastation, betrayal, and some humiliation. A lot of it's very emotional," Crick said. "People are shocked and rather stunned at what has happened. So, actually, there hasn't been a lot of talking about it as much as sort of morning."
Professor Crick, who's been at Texas A&M for a decade, says most faculty members were excited to welcome McElroy back to Aggieland, but now both the schools' recruitment and reputation have been damaged, and that it might take years to recover from the controversy.
"Our word and everybody's word at this university is tainted, and that's the nature of what a corrupt institution looks like," Crick said. "It's when you cannot keep your word because things are happening behind the scenes that undermine that word, and when you can't keep your word and when you can't hold your promises that devastate everybody involved."
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