Texas A&M confirmed this week that it will not reinstate Melissa McCoul, the instructor dismissed after a student confrontation over a classroom lesson on gender identity. System vice chancellor for academic affairs James Hallmark wrote that the termination was for "good cause," reversing a faculty panel’s finding that McCoul’s academic freedom had been violated and that proper termination process was flouted by former university leadership. McCoul’s lawyer, Amanda Reichek, said the instructor will pursue First Amendment, due process and breach‑of‑contract claims in court. The dispute names former Texas A&M president Mark Welsh as a central actor in a termination process faculty governance later criticized. The case highlights tensions between university executives, faculty panels, academic freedom claims and legal remedies. Academic freedom is the principle that faculty can teach and research without institutional censorship; legal disputes over its scope often turn on procedural due process and institutional policy. Campus leaders and faculty governance bodies should track the litigation for precedents affecting termination procedures and free‑speech adjudication on other campuses.