Elsa Murano

Starting with the incoming freshmen in the Fall of 2008, Murano eliminated tuition for A&M students whose parents earn less than $60,000 annually.[18] Although some voiced criticism for this action, citing that a student's ability to pay for tuition is not necessarily dependent on the financial situation of his or her parents, President Murano's policy was ultimately proven to be ahead of its time and visionary. In 2019, this concept was implemented at the University of Texas, prompting many to ask whether Texas A&M would follow suit. John Sharp, current Chancellor of Texas A&M confirmed that the "Aggie Assurance Program" that was started by President Murano ten years earlier was still very much in effect and was evidence that Texas A&M was ahead of UT, having allowed over 33,000 undergraduate students from families earning less than $60,000 a year to attend college tuition free (Caller Times https://www.caller.com/story/opinion/2019/07/15/yes-texas-a-m-has-tuition-free-program-similar-uts/1738601001/).

TAMU President Murano in 2008

Dr. Elsa Murano with her husband Dr. Peter Murano

As of 2009, the Memorial Student Center building, often referred to as the University's "living room", was in significant need of structural repairs and upgrades to house the ever-growing student body. The project, originally spearheaded by former Vice President of Student Affairs Dean Bresciani, was initially proposed with partial access to the facility during renovation.[19] One year after the project had been voted on by the student body, however, no progress had been made. After President Murano met with the architects and developers, she learned that the job might require different plans than had been presented to the students a year before by the previous administration. For one, the building was full of asbestos, so in order to maintain safety during removal, the entire building would need to be closed down during renovation. A referendum was called for by the students who felt they had been lied to by the previous administration. Ultimately, President Murano's plan was implemented and the MSC was fully renovated ahead of schedule and at a lower cost than anticipated. Today in 2020, it stands as one of the most significant symbols of Aggie pride on campus.

On June 14, 2009, Dr. Murano resigned her position as president of Texas A&M effective on June 15. Dr. Murano stated, "It is clear that the differences in policy between myself and the Chancellor are insurmountable. My aim has been and always will be to do all I can to protect and enhance the reputation of this great university that I love so much. It is because of my deep and abiding passion for what the university represents, and for the people of the Aggie family, which reinforces my duty to do what is best for the University. Given that there seems to be significant differences of opinion and approaches between me and the Chancellor with respect to what is best for Texas A&M, I will be resigning as President of our beloved university, effective tomorrow, June 15, 2009, to return to the faculty".[20]

As stated above, Texas A&M University System Chancellor Mike McKinney had conducted a review of Murano. It was known that in addition to having differences with Murano, McKinney had often stated that regents were considering merging the positions of chancellor and president to save money. Such a statement raised a lot of suspicions as to whether McKinney had been planning this from the start of Murano's tenure and may have ultimately pushed Murano from her post. Murano disputed McKinney's review in a 30-page typed response sent March 10 to the chancellor and the regents. "Given the complete disconnection between Dr. McKinney's perception of my performance as president and all the evidence to the contrary, I can conclude that this review was not based on facts, as it goes against every review I have ever received in the positions I have held in my career, most notably that of Undersecretary for Food Safety, a Senate-confirmed position. Clearly, Chancellor McKinney needs to provide evidence to support his evaluation, which he has failed to do as of this writing" Murano wrote.[21][22]

For her part, President Murano argued that Chancellor McKinney would frequently exclude her as president, working out secret agreements with private companies to commercialize scientific advances, providing them with university funds without any due process or input by her administration. She argued that McKinney seemed to have hidden agendas and that his style was as far from shared governance as one can fathom. In light of what was clearly a review without substantiation, on June 9, 2009, the Faculty Senate at Texas A&M University met to consider drafting a vote of "no confidence" on the Chancellor, and a statement of support for President Murano. Many said that Murano was being punished because she defended members of the faculty, and the integrity of the University's mission, to her superiors. Dr. Angie Hill-Price, a former Speaker of the Senate, drew applause at the meeting after comments in which she called McKinney's review of President Murano as "unprofessional". She stated "Murano has worked very hard to engage faculty, she understands what shared governance means, and she's worked very hard implementing that at the university. And I think she's paying a price for working with the faculty" (The Eagle, June 9, 2009).

In a crowded and brief special meeting on June 15, 2009, the A&M System board of regents approved Murano's resignation and replaced her with the chief executive officer of A&M's branch campus in Galveston, R. Bowen Loftin. Murano returned to the faculty as a professor, with the Board awarding her the title of President Emerita. Murano was very well received by the faculty, and within a few months successfully restarted her research program by securing a $1M grant from USDA as the lead investigator of a consortium of Texas A&M scientists to work on determining how microbial pathogens contaminate produce in the field. About a year later, a new Board of Regents asked Chancellor McKinney to resign, which many saw as vindication for the faculty's vote of "no-confidence" on McKinney, their continued support for Murano, and recognition of her courage to do what was right to protect and elevate the University in spite of personal cost.

Dr. Murano and her team visit the Borlaug Institute

Dr. Murano being inducted into the Texas Women Hall of Fame with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

In 2012, Professor Murano was asked to serve as Director of the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture by then Vice Chancellor and Dean Dr. Mark Hussey, a position she has held ever since. As Director, Dr. Murano leads the institute in the implementation of projects in developing countries across the world in fulfillment of Dr. Borlaug's legacy to elevate small-holder farmers out of poverty and hunger through science. Under her leadership, the institute has secured funding in excess of $100M and is considered one of the leading international agriculture university-based programs in the U.S. The Borlaug Institute works in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, and Asia in projects including production of agricultural crops and livestock, irrigation strategies involving mathematical modeling, compliance with food safety standards, nutrition, trade, education, and youth and gender issues. Dr. Murano has been serving on the Board of Hormel Foods Corporation since 2006, and currently also serves on the Board of Food Safety Net Services, and on the Food Safety Advisory Board for Ecolab, Inc. In 2019, she was elected Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the International Livestock Research Institute, a research center that is part of the CGIAR System. She has subsequently been elected Chair of ILRI. Evident of her standing in the field of food safety, agriculture, as well as in academia and government service, Dr. Murano was asked to serve on an advisory committee to NASA's Food Production Laboratory to help identify issues to be considered in developing foods for long-term missions to Mars. In 2018, Dr. Murano was named "Maestro of Community Service" by Latino Leaders Magazine's Maestro Awards, and selected as Women Inc. Magazine's "One of the Most Influential Corporate Board Directors". In 2019, in recognition of her many accomplishments as Undersecretary, Dr. Murano was inducted into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame. Along with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Dr. Murano was inducted into the Texas Woman of the Year Hall of Fame. She was also inducted into the Miami-Dade College Alumni Hall of Fame, and in 2005, she was awarded the "American By Choice" Award by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security, along with Nobel Prize Laureate Eli Wiesel.