Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp responded on Tuesday to claims that former A&M President Lawrence Sullivan Ross has ties to white supremacy.

Sharp submitted a letter-to-the-editor response that was published online by the A&M student newspaper The Battalion.

"Not only is it true that Ross saved Texas A&M when wealthy real estate developers in Austin were trying to shut it down, but he also saved Prairie View A&M as well. In a speech in Waco in July 1897, Edward Blackshear, for whom the Prairie View football stadium is named and who was the first leader of Prairie View A&M, praised Ross as perhaps the best friend black Texans ever had. Literally, Prairie View A&M and Texas A&M would not exist but for Lawrence Sullivan Ross," wrote Sharp.

Another letter submitted to The Battalion and published online highlights some of the concerns expressed by students who feel Sully's statue should be removed from its location.

In his letter, Sharp said Lawrence Sullivan Ross will have his statue at Texas A&M forever, "not because of obstinance, but because he deserves the honor with a lifetime of service to ALL TEXANS and ALL AGGIES."