COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Just one day after Texas A&M's interim president promised transparency, the university released documents related to two high-profile case incidents.
Professor Joy Alonzo, a respected opioid expert, was placed on paid leave and investigated after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M System, and asked him to look into alleged comments she made about him during a lecture.
Kathleen McElroy, Ph.D., a celebrated journalist, was hired to revive A&M's journalism program but eventually turned down the deal after university leaders changed the offer numerous times amid backlash from regents about McElroy's work on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The documents obtained by KVUE show Alonzo was placed on administrative leave and investigated by the university back in March regarding allegations surrounding comments made on March 7. After that investigation finished, the school lifted Alonzo's administrative leave on March 21.
In a letter from March 22, the Department Head of Pharmacy Practice for Texas A&M University wrote a letter to Alonzo, stating that during an Opioid Overdose Education & Naloxone Administration (OENA) presentation at the University of Texas at Galveston, "You [Alonzo] related an anecdote and interaction with a state official. While you did not name the state official you did name the office held. I understand that your comment did not assign blame."
The document proceeds to state that some people in the audience found the anecdote offensive. The College of Pharmacy told Alonzo to "be mindful on how you present your views" and that the school "supports and welcomes your research efforts and contributions in the fight against the opioid crisis."
Alonzo released the following statement regarding the incident:
“A comment I made during a 2-hour lecture on March 7 regarding opioid overdose education and naloxone administration was mischaracterized and misconstrued. I’ve given this same presentation about 1,000 times across the state over the past few years, and I also have trained others to provide the same presentation.
At no time did I say anyone deserve to die from an overdose. I agreed to the administrative leave pending the inquiry, and was satisfied with the outcome, which exonerated me from any wrongdoing.”
Sharp released a message regarding the controversy surrounding Alonzo.
"To Dr. Alonzo, I am sorry her name was bandied about in the news media four months after the university had cleared her of allegations she had criticized Lt. Governor Dan Patrick in a manner that at least one student found offensive. The report also corrects the false narrative that I ordered an investigation into Dr. Alonzo and am not a champion of academic freedom because I took one brief, non-threatening phone call from the lieutenant governor. The truth is, the university put her on paid leave while it investigated with no initiation or interference from me. Further, Dr. Joy Alonzo says she has no issue with how the university handled her case. Bottom line, Texas A&M investigated when the University of Texas Medical Branch, where Dr. Alonzo was appearing as a guest lecturer, issued a public statement censuring Dr. Alonzo without providing any evidence, it turned out, and unfortunately still hasn’t retracted that censure."
The university also released several documents regarding McElroy's botched hiring due to backlash surrounding her employment and experience at The New York Times.
The initial discussion of hiring McElroy started in 2022 when an email was sent asking to bring McElroy on board to work for A&M. The email dated July 17, 2022, stated, "We purpose the recruitment of Dr. Kathleen McElroy as a one-year, full-time Visiting Professor and Interim Director of Journalism in the Department of Communications & Journalism."
The email also talked about McElroy's extensive career and experience working "at the highest level in the journalism industry." At the time, McElroy was a G.B. Dealey Regents Professor and Director of Journalism at the Moody School of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin.
McElroy sent back an email on April 6, 2023, discussing her plans for the journalism program. In it, McElroy stated, "The newly named Department of Communication & Journalism would become even stronger by developing partnerships across campus and industries that give our majors access to such fields as data visualization and departments as Latino/a & Mexican American Studies. We should be training sought-after data journalists and Spanish-language journalists."
On April 28, an offer was purposed for McElroy regarding the next steps for her employment, along with a summary of her review. The review had high praises for her.
On May 11, McElroy was verbally offered the position by Dr. Hart Blanton. Then a text message exchange between Bermudez and Blanton talked about how Blanton spoke with former A&M President Katherine Banks, saying she didn't want any publicity on the McElroy appointment until after the legislative session ended. But Blanton expressed concern, saying not making a public statement could result in "negative publicity for the university."
On June 13, McElroy signed an appointment letter that stated the position had "'tenure upon arrival' contingent on approval by TAMU, System and Board of Regents."
However, there was backlash regarding her work at The New York Times that was presented to the A&M Board of Regents. One document that was sent to the regents stated that former Interim Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M, Jose Bermudez told McElroy "that her appointment had 'stirred up a hornet's nest' and warned her not to give up her position at the University of Texas.'"
In a text from June, one of the regents wrote, "I thought the purpose of us starting a journalist department was to get a high-quality Aggie journalist with conservative values into the market."
The documents also showed that certain alumni groups also objected to her hiring. A&M changed their job offer after announcing McElroy was picked in June. One letter on or about June 27 called for "a multi-year appointment as a Professor of Practice and the other letter provided for a multi-year appointment as Director of the Journalism program in an administrative position."
But A&M did not deliver the new appointment letters to McElroy. Instead, it was delayed until the board could meet on July 6.
On July 9, McElroy received updated appointment letters. One called for the "appointment to the faculty as a Professor of Practice with a 1-year appointment and the other provided for 3-year administrative appointment as Director of the Journalism program." The administrative letter talked about "at will status," whereas the faculty letter did not. But Bermudez did not provide the newly updated letters to Blanton for review before sending them to McElroy.
After receiving the updated letters, McElroy told Bermudez she was "displeased that the faculty appointment letter provided only a 1-year appointment" and that she would need time to "process what had transpired." On July 11, she ended up speaking publicly to The Texas Tribune.
Banks responded to McElroy not taking the offer, stating, "I think we dodged a bullet ... she is a awful person to go the press before us." She also denied any knowledge regarding the "changes to the terms of the appointment of McElroy prior to the publication of McElroy's comments on July 11."
On July 21, Banks stepped down as A&M's president amid this controversy and McElroy stated she would be staying at UT.
Sharp released a statement after the conclusion of the investigation into the attempted hiring of McElroy:
"Regarding the events in Dr. McElroy’s hiring process, it is difficult to recognize the alma mater I dearly love and to which I owe so much. Texas A&M is far better than this! A few, however, forgot our Core Values. It is time to come together, put our house back in order, and vow to never let this happen again. We all must rededicate ourselves to the Aggie values that define us and bind us. To begin with, I want to apologize publicly to Dr. McElroy and fervently hope we can eventually heal with our mutual love for Texas A&M."
"Dr. Kathleen McElroy and the leadership of Texas A&M University and The Texas A&M University System announced today that they have settled their differences regarding Dr. McElroy’s employment in the Texas A&M journalism program. Texas A&M acknowledges that mistakes were made during the hiring process relating to Dr. McElroy. The leadership of Texas A&M apologizes to Dr. McElroy for the way her employment application was handled, has learned from its mistakes and will strive to ensure similar mistakes are not repeated in the future.
Commenting on the settlement, Dr. McElroy stated: “Texas A&M University remains in my heart despite the events of the past month. I will never forget that Aggies — students, faculty members, former students and staff — voiced support for me from many sectors. I hope the resolution of my matter will reinforce A&M’s allegiance to excellence in higher education and its commitment to academic freedom and journalism.”
Dr. McElroy will continue as a tenured Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Texas A&M agreed to pay McElroy $1 million as part of the settlement.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.