Hundreds of changes are underway at Texas A&M University and other public universities across the state as schools work to comply with controversial new state laws affecting curriculum.
According to reporting by the Texas Tribune and The New York Times, several courses at Texas A&M University have been canceled, while many others have been revised to remove or limit discussion of race and gender.
Similar changes are happening at universities statewide.
Dr. Leonard Bright, a professor at Texas A&M, said the shift reflects broader power dynamics in higher education, with long-standing strategies and subject matter being pushed aside.
“That is what higher education is, challenging students with a range of viewpoints. I mean, I would be more concerned if one viewpoint was being discussed. When there’s other viewpoints there, they should learn. That is where we should be concerned,” Bright said.
The changes extend well beyond Texas A&M. The author of the new law, Brandon Creighton, is now the chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. Creighton has said the focus is on prioritizing coursework that prepares students for jobs after college.
Creighton said curricula will be reviewed to determine whether courses are of value and if they are necessary to earn a degree, license or credential.
He also said students interested in gender studies should look elsewhere.
“They can pursue any other learning avenue or path online or within some other medium that they choose to. But no,” Creighton said.
The curriculum overhaul follows the resignation of Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh III, who announced in September 2025 he was stepping down after the firing of a professor who was secretly recorded during a children’s literature class.
Students across the state are set to begin the new semester next week, amid what some see as a shifting political landscape in higher education leadership. Many chancellors at major Texas university systems — including the University of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Texas State University — are former Republican lawmakers.
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