Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh III announced in a late-night Monday email to Mays Business School faculty and staff that it pulled out of a business recruiting conference after Gov. Greg Abbott said it violated Senate Bill 17, the state’s anti-DEI law. 

“While the proper process for reviewing and approving attendance at such events was followed, I don’t believe we fully considered the spirit of our state law in making the initial decision to participate,” Welsh said in the announcement. “This particular conference’s limitations on the acceptable race of attendees is not in line with the intent of SB-17, and, as a result, we will not be sending anyone to participate in this conference.”

The annual conference is hosted by The PhD Project in Chicago with a focus on networking and mentoring opportunities for “historically underrepresented students.” To apply, students must identify as “Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic America, or Native American/Canadian Indigenous,” according to its website. 

Screenshots of the eligibility criteria and A&M’s involvement were posted on the social media platform X on Monday, which were later picked up by Abbott. 

“It’s against Texas law and violates the US Constitution,” Abbott wrote on X Monday night. “It will be fixed immediately or the president will soon be gone.” 

Soon after, A&M’s main X account posted a statement from Welsh reaffirming the university’s intent to follow SB 17. 

A statement from Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh III: Texas A&M does not support any organization, conference, process or activity that excludes people based on race, creed, gender, age or any other discriminating factor. The intent of SB-17 is very clear in that…

— Texas A&M University (@TAMU) January 14, 2025

The university’s general counsel confirmed to Mays faculty earlier this month that attending the conference didn’t violate SB 17 due to the law’s recruiting exemptions.  

A&M was one of 10 Texas universities and dozens of others nationwide that had partnered with The PhD Project, including Baylor University, the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University. After Abbott’s threat, Welsh distributed a statement announcing that the university had pulled out of the conference.

“Earlier this evening I released the following statement on social media in response to criticism we received for approving folks to attend and present at a doctoral recruiting conference that limited attendees (potential doctoral students) by race and other factors,” Welsh said in the midnight announcement. “Texas A&M does not support any organization, conference, process or activity that excludes people based on race, creed, gender, age or any other discriminating factor. The intent of SB-17 is very clear in that regard. We will continue to honor both the letter and the intent of the law. … Texas A&M faculty and staff attend hundreds, if not thousands, of conferences and other events during the course of each academic year. We need to be sure that attendance at those events is aligned with the very clear guidance we’ve been given by our governing bodies.”

Update 1/14: Several Texas universities have pulled out of The PhD Project’s conference, including the entire University of Texas System. Of the original 10, only Baylor University, Rice University and the University of Houston remain partnered.

Update 1/15: A University of North Texas spokesperson told The Battalion that UNT discontinued its partnership with The PhD Project in early 2024. The university is working with the organization to remove its name from the list of partners. The story has been updated accordingly.