LOCAL: RACE WAS A FACTOR IN BLACK PROFESSOR’S FAILED HIRING, TEXAS A&M DEPARTMENT HEAD SAYS

By Alejandro Martinez-Cabrera and Kate McGee, Texas Tribune

ATexas A&M University department head involved in the failed efforts to recruit a Black journalism professor said Friday that then-President M. Katherine Banks interfered in the hiring process and that race was a factor in university officials’ decision to water down her job offer.

“The unusual level of scrutiny being given to the hiring of Dr. [Kathleen] McElroy was acknowledged by one administrator to have been based, at least in part, on race," said Hart Blanton, head of the department of communications and journalism.

"Regardless of the source of any such pressure, I understand it to be illegal for any employer—much less a public university—to subject a job candidate to stricter scrutiny due to her race or color."

McElroy, a 1981 Texas A&M graduate and the former director of the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism, turned down an offer to reboot A&M’s journalism program earlier this month after a fraught negotiation process first reported by The Texas Tribune.

What originally was a tenure-track offer was reduced to a five- year position after conservative backlash arose in response to the hire. It was then lessened again to a one-year position from which she could be fired at any time. McElroy ultimately walked away from the negotiations, saying the final offer “makes it clear they don’t want me there.”

The collapse of the hire sparked outrage and concerns about academic freedom from faculty. Blanton said that Banks — who resigned from her position earlier Friday in response to the fallout — misled members of the Faculty Senate during a meeting Wednesday by telling them the decision to change McElroy’s job offer was made solely within Blanton’s department and without her involvement. Banks repeatedly told professors that she did not approve any changes to McElroy’s offer letter.

“To the contrary, President Banks injected herself into the process atypically and early on,” Blanton said. He also said he was “shocked” to see his signature was used in the revised versions of McElroy’s job offer without his consent. He said he shared materials related to the incident with the university’s legal staff on Thursday, the night before Banks’ resignation was made public.

Blanton's one-page letter did not go into specifics, such as how Banks became involved in the process or who acknowledged that race was a factor in the debacle.

Laylan Copelin, vice chancellor for marketing and communications at the A&M System, said Friday that the system is in the early stages of an investigation into McElroy’s hiring process. That inquiry, he said, will include interviews with Blanton, Banks and others and a review relevant documents and communications. He added that system leaders “have read, heard and understood the concerns of our Aggie community stemming from the attempt to hire Dr. Kathleen McElroy.”

“We are determined to get to the bottom of what happened and why, learn from the mistakes and do better in the future,” he said.

Read more at StyleMagazine.com

By Burt Levine, Political Writier For www.StyleMagazine.com

United States Senator Tim Scott, elected in 2016 as the first black U.S. Senator since Reconstruction and in 2010 as the first Republican African American elected from South Carolina to the U.S. Congress since 1897, has raised the money and poll numbers to qualify to compete on the August 23 debate stage with former President Donald Trump.

"I am running because I believe America can do for anyone what America has done for me. We are going to work as a country together to restore hope, create opportunities, and protect the America we love," said Scott, who recalls himself as "the grandson of cotton-picking sharecroppers and the son, with my brother, of a Nursing Assistant single mom."

He worked at a North Charleston Chi-Fil-A when he quit football and was going to drop out of school, but he finished school and later graduated from a local college. He built his insurance and real estate businesses and served as a local Councilman before beating "Segregationist" Senator Strom Thurmond's son Paul in a Republican Primary for

Congress and later being appointed by Governor Nikki Haley to become a U.S. Senator himself.

Key indicators from favorability to fundraising and early-state polling say Scott may be the ascendant antidote to Trump, competing with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second place in Republican Presidential Primary polling for the '24 Republican Presidential Nomination. Seen as a marathon contender, since Scott entered the race in May, his standing has slowly climbed in Iowa and New Hampshire. A University of New Hampshire poll found him third among Republican Primary Voters, inching ahead of rivals former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Governor from his home state, Haley.

Scott, with his buoyant bid and bold smile, is also staking out third place in recent Iowa polls, and a few national polls have shown him as the second choice. He is the only one of the current www.StyleMagazine.com

Presidential rivals to purchase television time this early. Scott and his support groups have secured up to $40 million to run ads in Iowa, New Hampshire, and his home state of South Carolina (the first three Presidential nominating states). Scott now is the only candidate for President to have locked in precious airtime that far in advance.

Scott's supporters were promoted in the New York Times this past week, testifying that his positive campaign message and Pro-America general appeals provide a contrast to his rivals and remind many of the ascendency of President Reagan's "Morning in America."

The 5'11 tall Scott says, "Our country is founded on a Jewish and Christian rock requiring us to fight for right. Our rights don't come from any government. Our rights are inalienable. They come from a Creator, and our fight to redeem 'em." He told Second Baptist Church in Houston, "If we want a better America, I think it starts with faith in God and faith in each other."