In many parts of the U.S., students and professors are left navigating a rapidly narrowing space for inquiry and expression. Texas A&M Aggies athletes cheer on a teammate in the Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle Finals during the Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on March 21, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Alex Slitz / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Texas A&M University announced late last month it will eliminate its women’s and gender studies program, effective immediately. At the same time, the university enacted new policies that heavily restrict classroom discussions related to diversity, race and gender, unless a course has been previously approved by the campus president. While students currently enrolled in the women’s and gender studies program will be able to complete their degrees, new students can no longer enroll. 

With over 81,000 students, 17 colleges and schools on its main campus, three campuses across the state (plus several satellite locations, including one in Washington, D.C.) and more than 140 undergraduate degrees, Texas A&M is one of the nation’s largest public university systems. It began instruction in 1876 and began offering women’s and gender studies courses in 1979. The elimination of the program marks the abrupt end of a decades-long academic offering—and, coupled with new and dangerous policies regarding race, gender and sexuality, sets a disturbing precedent and furthers a chilling, anti-education agenda.

Timeline: How A&M Dismantled Gender and LGBTQ+ Programs, Step by Step

March 2023 — At West Texas A&M (Texas A&M’s northernmost campus), university president Walter Wendler blocked an on-campus drag show. The student group hosting the show, Spectrum WT, filed a lawsuit in response. The case remained active until recently, when federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk upheld the university’s decision, ruling the school did not violate the First Amendment.

August 2024 — Texas A&M stopped offering gender-affirming care to their students, forcing those receiving care to seek providers elsewhere.

November 2024 — The university eliminated its LGBTQ+ studies minor, previously housed within the women’s and gender studies program.

February 2025 — Texas A&M’s Board of Regents (all appointed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott) attempted to ban drag shows across system campuses. This particular ban was temporarily blocked.

September 2025 — A&M’s university president Mark A. Welsh III fired lecturer Dr. Melissa McCoul following a classroom dispute over a lesson on gender identity. McCoul is now suing the university, alleging violations of her free speech and due process rights.

November 2025 — The Board of Regents unanimously decided to revise their new, restrictive policies regarding language in the classroom. The university reviewed more than 5,400 course syllabi, cut six courses entirely, granted 48 special exceptions, and required hundreds more to be modified.

January 2026 — Texas A&M announced it would eliminate its women’s and gender studies program.

From Florida to Ohio to Texas, the Same Playbook Is Unfolding

Texas A&M is not alone. Across the United States, institutions including New College of Florida, Wichita State University and the University of Toledo have reduced or eliminated women’s and gender studies programs. Hundreds of universities have also scaled back or rebranded diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in response to political pressure and new state laws.

The closure of Texas A&M’s program reflects a broader national trend: mounting restrictions on how gender, race and sexuality can be studied and discussed in public higher education. For students and faculty, these changes reshape not only what can be taught, but what kinds of scholarship and inquiry are permitted on campus. The elimination of a long-standing academic program at one of the country’s largest public universities signals how quickly these shifts can take hold, and how widely they may spread.

Being concerned is no longer enough. It’s time for us to stand up and actively protect these programs. 

Students, educators and advocates are increasingly being asked to document and challenge the dismantling of academic programs and protections across the country.

Ms. Classroom wants to hear from educators and students being impacted by legislation attacking public education, higher education, gender, race and sexuality studies, activism and social justice in education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Cue: a new series from Ms., ‘Banned! Voices from the Classroom.’ Submit pitches and/or op-eds and reflections (between 500-800 words) to Ms. contributing editor Aviva Dove-Viebahn at adove-viebahn@msmagazine.com. Posts will be accepted on a rolling basis.