Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp announced Monday he will be retiring on June 30, 2025.
A figure notorious in state politics, Sharp led the System through its last decade — from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s 2023 push to remove tenure to state officials’ attempts to interfere in A&M, Sharp has navigated the Republican extremities Texas offers with a precision that puts perspective into the tenure of A&M’s longest-serving chancellor.
Sharp said in a Texas Tribune interview he plans to stay with the System until the end of the next legislative session, with Board of Regents Chairman Bill Mahomes saying in a statement they will conduct a nationwide search over the next year to find his successor. But with partisan polarization at an all-time high, a critical question remains: can the Board find a chancellor with the bipartisan skills to navigate Texas’ politics while continuing the A&M System’s growth?
Sharp was a state Democratic politician who held various Texas positions, including comptroller, state representative and senator. He ran for lieutenant governor twice, losing both times — once against his former A&M roommate Rick Perry in 1998. Perry later became Texas governor, appointing the Board of Regents that hired Sharp in September 2011.
During his tenure, A&M almost doubled in enrollment, acquired a law school that has climbed the ranks at record speed and constructed A&M-RELLIS, a technology-focused campus that’s gathered the attention of innovators nationwide.
Yet it has also been riddled with scandal — from the debate on whether to remove the Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue because of Confederate ties to the failed hiring of Kathleen McElroy as journalism director and the subsequent fallout. Sharp has weathered it all, sometimes making his opinion known and at times, not showing his hand at all.
In the McElroy debacle, Sharp made no move until it was resolved and former president M. Katherine Banks had resigned — making a small statement accompanying a final report, where he apologized and said, “We surely learned of some bad decision-making to which almost no one was privy at the time.”
When the Texas legislature threatened to remove tenure in 2023, The Texas Tribune reports Sharp maneuvered to instead have Texas enshrine A&M’s policies into state law, leaving only a little room for firing under strict circumstances.
“It was the kind of Sharp masterstroke that demonstrated why he is the longest-serving chancellor [in] A&M system history,” The Tribune wrote.
The A&M’s System unbridled success in recent years can be attributed in one way or another to Sharp, whether through his work advancing A&M’s priorities in the legislature or deals made with external and government organizations. Finding a chancellor with a similar skill set will be difficult, especially with the increased polarization of the Board — all of which are conservative, Governor Abbott donors likely seeking someone with a right-leaning mindset.
Conservative outlets’ eyes never leave A&M, which they consider a “conservative stalwart,” and newer regents, such as Jay Graham, are set on advancing conservative politics at A&M and “control[ing] the liberal nature” they allege professors bring to campus.
“I thought the purpose of us starting a journalism department was to get high-quality Aggie journalism with conservative values into the market,” Graham texted in a released 2023 message. “… We were going to start a journalism department to get high-quality conservative Aggie students into the journalism world to help direct our message.”
Sharp was appointed before nationwide partisan politics marred Texas. The next chancellor won’t be as fortunate. When controversy came knocking at A&M, Sharp weathered it well, whether it was Democrat or Republican driven. The next chancellor, appointed by the newer, far-right-leaning regents, will have more conservative expectations set on them. Whether they can balance state politics while advancing the A&M System — or whether such a task is even possible — is yet to be determined.
Sharp indicated in his interview with the Tribune that he’ll “bring the new chancellor with” him when navigating the 2025 legislative session, implying the Board hopes to choose a successor by the end of the year.
“While the road goes on forever and the party never ends, soon it will be time for this Chancellor to disappear around the bend,” Sharp wrote in his farewell letter. “I will move to Austin to spend more time with my daughter Victoria, son Spencer, and Diana’s and my grandchildren. While I am retiring from this job, I will find ways to continue to serve the great state I love.”
Sharp and the older regents are part of a class of officials who weren’t molded in today’s political polarization — possibly the last the A&M System will see who want nothing other than improvement. While Sharp stayed out of the debate to remove the conservative-linked statue on campus, the next chancellor might be personally involved. The next chancellor might double down if a McElroy situation plays out again — the next might commit to purging left-leaning ideas from campus or firing staff who speak against the governor.
Despite being known as a conservative school, A&M is currently remarkably nonpartisan as an institution, so much so it’s unnoticeable. The damage changing that status quo will do is extraordinary. What happens if the new chancellor pushes for a curriculum change that puts A&M’s status as a respected university in question? Or uses on-campus media and outlets to support conservative policies or candidates? It took years for A&M’s reputation to reach this point, and all it takes is a few decisions to destroy a decade of progress. It’s dangerous territory.
In the coming years, with new politics, officials and institutional goals, June 30, 2025, might be remembered as the last day of the A&M we know today. We’ll have to wait and see.
