In recent months, as national attention has focused on the censorship of curricula and course materials on campuses across Texas’ sprawling public university systems, PEN America has raised the alarm about mounting threats to academic freedom for faculty and students. From the censoring of Plato at Texas A&M to the shuttering of departments including African and African Diaspora Studies, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Mexican-American and Latino/a Studies, and American Studies at the flagship University of Texas-Austin, and unprecedented prohibitions on student research on issues related to sexual identity and gender identity at Texas Tech – the situation for students and faculty across the state is dire. So dire that Texas’ SEAT (Students Engaged in Advancing Texas), a leading voice for students across the state, has organized a series of mock funerals for academic freedom at public university campuses. Now, on May 28, the Regents at the Texas State University System will vote on whether to end tenure at all three of their 2-year campuses, Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College-Orange, and Lamar State College-Port Arthur. A Board of Regents committee voted yesterday to recommend approval of this policy.
“If they eliminate tenure at their two-year campuses, the Regents of the Texas State University system will do more than degrade the working conditions of faculty in their system, they will pound another nail into the coffin of academic freedom in Texas,” says Amy Reid, Freedom to Learn Program Director at PEN America. “Tenure protects faculty from political retribution, allowing them to focus on doing their job: teaching and supporting students, engaging in research and the governance of the college, providing value to their community. We urge all Texans – students, parents, community members – to speak up to protect higher education, free expression, and academic freedom in Texas.”
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Malka Margolies, [email protected], 718-530-3582