Sully statue to remain

quote:

---

The expectation is to concentrate on the history of the university and the key contributors to the history of the university, Junkins said Wednesday.

“Their bio will also be included, and in the case of Sul Ross it would obviously cover his role as a Confederate soldier, and so on,” he explained. “So I think the documentation of our history, and essentially the key contributors over time to get to our current state and that's the — Ross belongs. But we're gonna try to change the conversation to get away from deification of leaders in terms of all attributes of their lives and recognize mainly the contribution to building the university, but also document their history and making a historical record of leadership. That’s what I expect.”

---

quote:

---

This Jan. 27 announcement follows a recent meeting by the university’s Board of Regents, in which they discussed an approved action plan after a presentation by the Commission for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The budget for this plan totaled nearly $25 million, and includes additional scholarships to minority students and outreach for potential students. The Ross statue was mentioned in the report given by the commission, implying that addressing the issues surrounding the statue would be a positive action on A&M’s part.

---

quote:

---

Texas A&M leadership is clearing the air: the much-disputed Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue, honoring the former university president and Confederate general, is staying put.

Interim President John Junkins stressed the school’s intentions to The Texas Tribune on Wednesday, just two days after the university put out a report that characterized the question of the statue’s future as unresolved. Students who have been pushing the university on diversity issues also said they were never told that the issue had been decided.

---