Texas A&M University interim President Mark A. Welsh III said the university needs to establish clear guidelines to handle allegations against professors like the complaint lodged by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham against a Texas A&M faculty member this spring that landed the professor on temporary leave as the school investigated.
During a press conference in College Station on Wednesday, Welsh said he did not think there was anything wrong with how the university handled the case involving respected opioids expert Joy Alonzo but that the incident begged for fixes to university policy.
“It was a decision that was not guided by any specific policy and guidance that we have in our system right now,” Welsh said. “We need to fix that so that we can make sure we do this in a thoughtful way with better support for the decision-maker and for Dr. Alonzo.”