A Tale of Two Presidencies | Texas A&M Caught Up In Culture Wars
Campus Files: Scandals, Secrets & Crimes at American Universities
Audacy
4.5 • 7.4K Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The story of Mark Welsh III, the beloved president of Texas A&M who was dramatically forced out as part of a conservative backlash to academic freedom in higher ed.
Read Kate and Nico's Reporting: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/10/texas-a-m-mark-welsh-regents-abbott-fired/
Read Jessica Priest's Reporting on Melissa McCoul's firing: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/19/texas-a-m-welsh-firing-professor-gender-mccoul/
For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, this is Jill Schlesinger, CBS News, business analyst, certified financial planner, and the host of the Jill on Money podcast. |
| 0:07.8 | With the new year upon us, there's no better time to take control of your financial life. |
| 0:13.6 | And the Jill on Money podcast is here to help. |
| 0:16.6 | It's your questions that make it possible for me to provide unconventional and I hope entertaining |
| 0:22.2 | insights on your money, and more importantly, on your life. |
| 0:25.5 | Follow and listen to Jill on Money wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:44.3 | I just have a question because I'm not entirely sure this is legal to be teaching. This is a covertly recorded video captured in a classroom at Texas A&M in August of 2025. |
| 0:51.3 | Because according to our president, there's only two genders. |
| 0:55.0 | It's from a children's literature course, which specialized in childhood exploration of identity. |
| 1:00.0 | ... that promote gender ideology, and this also very much goes against not only myself, but a lot of people's religious beliefs. |
| 1:09.0 | The person recording was offended by the coursework and had decided to confront the professor. |
| 1:14.6 | The next day, the same student met with A&M president Mark Welsh. |
| 1:18.6 | Welsh had been president for just under two years at the time, |
| 1:22.6 | and was a breath of fresh air for the school after years of turmoil. |
| 1:26.6 | But only a week after this video was made public, the campus was shocked to learn Welsh had |
| 1:32.2 | been forced to resign. |
| 1:38.0 | I'm Ian Mont. |
| 1:39.4 | This week on Campus Files, a tale of two presidencies. |
| 1:42.9 | Texas A&M caught up in culture wars. |
| 1:50.0 | Good universities make an impact, and great universities stand for something. |
| 1:59.0 | Texas A&M University stands to lead, to serve, to dream. |
| 2:07.6 | If you're not from Texas, you may not appreciate how big a deal Texas A&M is. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Audacy, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Audacy and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

