Texas A&M University's interim president promised reforms as the school grapples with a string of controversies.

Interim President Mark A. Welsh III promised better transparency and the establishment of clear guidelines to handle allegations in his first public comments since taking on the role. The college saw a change in leadership after complaints over alleged political interference affecting employment, as well as the controversy around the suspension of a professor who had made inflammatory remarks about Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican.

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At a Wednesday press conference in College Station, Texas, Welsh defended the handling of the case involving professor Joy Alonzo but said it shows a need for clearer guidelines, the Texas Tribune reported.

“It was a decision that was not guided by any specific policy and guidance that we have in our system right now,” he said. “We need to fix that so that we can make sure we do this in a thoughtful way with better support for the decision-maker and for Dr. Alonzo.”

Alonzo, an opioids expert, was suspended after Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham filed a complaint, claiming that she had said in a lecture that Patrick believed "those kids deserve to die," a reference to fentanyl overdose deaths among children.

However, Alonzo denied the accusation on Wednesday, claiming her comments were misconstrued.

“A comment I made during a 2-hour lecture on March 7 regarding opioid overdose education and naloxone administration was mischaracterized and misconstrued," she said in a statement obtained by the Texas Tribune. "I’ve given this same presentation about 1,000 times across the state over the past few years, and I also have trained others to provide the same presentation. At no time did I say anyone deserved to die from an overdose.”

The other major controversy involved the hiring of black journalist Kathleen McElroy, which quickly came under fire due to her work and advocacy for DEI programs. She backed out of the job after the school renegotiated her contract, which she felt was watered down.

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Welsh's predecessor, M. Katherine Banks, resigned in the middle of the controversy following allegations from staff that she had misled faculty members about her role in the controversy. Welsh issued an apology for the school's handling of McElroy's hiring, blaming it on a "communication breakdown."

“I would hope everyone at Texas A&M would offer an apology to Dr. McElroy,” he said. “And no matter what happened, this didn’t go well.”