What’s Going On?
June 15, 2009
When Elsa Murano became president of Texas A&M on January 3, 2008 she became the first female, the first Hispanic-American, and the first person under the age of 50 to serve in the position. This was both a historic and (for many) a surprising decision by the Chancelor and the Board of Regents….but her time in the position was cut short. After receiving a poor performance review by the very Chancellor who selected her, Dr. Murano decided to resign her position on June 14th. Her performance review was released, and the whole situation became the main subject of conversation in the area. Granted, she wasn’t perfect, but everyone makes mistakes. What makes all of this so odd is that the entire situation appears to be veiled by a layer of political secrecy. Many speculate that Governor. Rick Perry, who appointed all nine regents is the person behind all the events that have taken place thus far. BTW: Chancellor McKinney is a former Perry chief of staff. There’s more to the story and if you’re interested, you can read about it in the Austin-American Statesman [-link-].
————————————————————————————————————
Rick Perry
Politics
Rumors aside, I’ll freely admit that I do not and never will understand the politics behind the governace of this univeristy or any institution of it’s size. My only hope is that those in power (and those who monitor them) will make the right decisions that move Texas A&M forward and not backward.
————————————————————————————————————
Murano and Loftin
Interim President
Until a new president is found, the board selected R. Bowen Loftin (Vice President and CEO of Texas A&M University at Galveston) to serve as Interim President. That’s him pictured with Murano when she visited the Galveston campus a few months ago.
————————————————————————————————————
Thanks again for letting me share part of my world with you.
————————————————————————————————————
