DR MCELROY AND TEXAS A&M

 

I’ve lived my life with integrity, compassion, and honesty.  I don’t back down from a controversial subject and will always speak out against injustice and prejudice.  I received many benefits from being White, although I was still short-shafted regarding equal pay as a woman.  


Case in point: I was replaced by two men when I retired from overseeing a 36-bed rehabilitation hospital and 6 outpatient clinics serving children through adults. The man who replaced me had great difficulty managing the inpatient rehabilitation services. Hence, the Healthcare System overseeing the services promoted a male physical therapist to manage the outpatient facilities.  Each of the men was paid more than I.  It’s probably not a stretch to guess that had I been a person of color with the same credentials, I would not have been hired, and doubly so if I had been a woman of color with the same credentials.

 

A tenured UT journalism professor was recently recruited to Texas A&M to kick-start their journalism program that had been dormant for years.  Dr. Kathleen McElroy graduated from A&M in 1981 with a doctorate from UT in journalism.  She was a well-respected editor at the New York Times and worked for other news organizations before teaching at UT, where she was hailed as an outstanding educator.  She has the perfect background to revitalize a journalism program at any university.

 

In June, A&M offered her a sweet deal. The university hosted a ceremony announcing her joining the faculty with huge fanfare. Within a few weeks, her contract was amended and eventually watered down to a one-year contract stipulating that she could be fired at any time.  She refused to sign the contract, and UT gladly welcomed her back.

 

According to Dr. McElroy, she was told that there were ‘people who didn’t like that she was Black. Even worse, they object to the fact that she had worked at the "liberal" New York Times.

 

One can only imagine what was said by big ol’ wealthy white boys sitting around a table at a board meeting smoking cigars.  

 


 

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