Texas A&M Halts Women’s and Gender Studies Amid Broader DEI Policy Revisions
In a move generating significant discussion, Texas A&M University has decided to discontinue its programs in women’s and gender studies. This decision is part of a larger initiative to revise educational content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across the institution.
The university, located in College Station, has also made substantial adjustments to hundreds of course offerings and fully canceled six of them. These measures follow a policy that was put in place last November, which precludes teaching that “will advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity” without the explicit approval of the campus president. The full policy details can be accessed here.
Texas A&M University in College Station. Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images
Tommy Williams, the interim president of Texas A&M, stated that the recent changes aim to “protect academic integrity and restore public trust,” emphasizing that this focus will persist as the university progresses.
The decision to phase out women’s and gender studies was influenced by the new policy and the “limited student interest” in these courses over the past years, according to university officials.
Ira Dworkin, an associate professor of English and vice president of the American Association of University Professors at the university’s flagship College Station campus, expressed strong disapproval, describing the move as unprecedented political intervention by the university’s board of regents, all appointed by Governor Greg Abbott.
“This is absolutely devastating for the faculty and colleagues who have done so much important and groundbreaking research and teaching in this area,” Dworkin remarked, adding that it is a “travesty” for politicians to dictate student studies.
Conversely, critics of liberal academia welcomed the decision. Inez Stepman from the Independent Women, a conservative think tank, commented, “The era of woke activism training camps funded by ordinary taxpayers is over. If universities want to have more useless women’s studies programs and departments, they are free to become truly private and pay their own salaries.”
Texas A&M is among the largest public universities in the United States, with an enrollment exceeding 81,000 students in both undergraduate and graduate programs.
Recently, similar actions have been observed at other universities such as the University of Iowa, Wichita State University in Kansas, and the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The National Women’s Studies Association issued a statement in 2025 expressing their concern about this trend, stating, “We are understandably saddened, frightened, and enraged about the current state of the field.”
