Kathleen McElroy, who had recently served as the director of the University of Texas’s School of Journalism, was thrilled to embark on a new assignment: running a similar program at her alma mater, Texas A&M University. Dr. McElroy, who once worked as an editor at The New York Times, said she was notified by the university’s interim dean of liberal arts, José Luis Bermúdez, of political pushback over her appointment. “I said, ‘What’s wrong?’” Dr. McElroy recalled in an interview. “He said, ‘You’re a Black woman who was at The New York Times and, to these folks, that’s like working for Pravda.’” Dr. McElroy left The Times in 2011. She elected to return to her tenured position at the University of Texas.

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Persons: Kathleen McElroy, . McElroy, José Luis Bermúdez, “, ‘, Dr, McElroy, ’ Organizations: University of Texas’s School of Journalism, M University, The New York Times, Pravda, Times, University of Texas, The Texas Tribune Locations: mater , Texas