‘Not a Faculty Senate, but the Texas Senate’: Senate Higher Ed Subcommittee Signals Expanded Political Interference

Academic freedom and democratic (note the lowercase "d") representation in higher education are among Texas AAUP-AFT's top legislative priorities for the upcoming 89th legislative session, as enshrined in our union's Educator's Bill of Rights.

On Monday, Nov. 11, the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee held its third interim committee hearing this year on three consequential charges, including two that are expected to have significant implications for both academic freedom and democratic representation:

1. Faculty Senates: Reviewing and analyzing faculty senates to recommend "guidelines for their role," a charge that signals potential legislative interference with shared governance.
2. Stopping DEI to Strengthen the Texas Workforce: Examining so-called "DEI programs and certificates," which Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick claims are "damaging and not aligned with state workforce demands." The framing of this charge suggests an effort to expand Senate Bill 17, the state's "DEI ban," to apply to academic instruction and curriculum in the upcoming 89th legislative session.
3. Improving K-12 College Pathways: Identifying ways to improve and streamline K-12 pathways to post-secondary education and addressing challenges in credit transfer.

The list of invited witnesses seemed designed to reinforce conclusions that Chairman Brandon Creighton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have already reached regarding the need to impose restrictions on faculty senates and ban so-called "DEI programs and certificates," while the dozens of students, faculty, and staff who visited the Capitol to testify were united in opposition to further political interference in higher education by the Texas Legislature.

We say "so-called DEI programs and certificates" because the label in legislative use has expanded far beyond the formal prohibitions in SB 17 against DEI offices, mandatory DEI statements, DEI training requirements, and preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin; at this point, loud critics of such efforts in the Texas Legislature and their wealthy donors use the label to refer to any acknowledgement by students or faculty that we live in a state of tremendous racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity.

In the hearing, Creighton repeatedly emphasized that university regents and leaders should not base their decisions on the recommendations of faculty.

"They've [university regents and presidents] got to make the tough decisions that sometimes are just going to be difficult on campus," he said. "But decisions that meet the expectation not of a faculty senate, but the Texas Senate."

He also declared that while DEI-related curriculum doesn't explicitly violate SB 17, it "contradicts its spirit" and "does not reflect the expectations of Texas taxpayers and students who fund our public universities." It must be noted that academic instruction and curriculum were explicitly exempted from SB 17's prohibitions, and that decisions regarding curriculum are typically made with significant direction from faculty. These concerning statements signal potential future legislation directly targeting academic freedom and shared governance.

The Role of Faculty Senates

Faculty leaders strongly defended the essential role of shared governance in higher education. Dr. Brian Evans, president of the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), warned that state interference with shared governance would have grave consequences.

"Having The State of Texas impose regulatory burdens on faculty senates would lead to weakening of the quality of education for our students and advancement of knowledge in Texas. It is a matter of public concern," Evans told the Austin American-Statesman before the hearing. "The resulting micromanagement of faculty senates could muzzle the faculty voice in matters of their expertise, including curriculum, teaching methods, research, and faculty hiring and promotion. Faculty senates currently operate under regulations from their campus administration and board of regents, and follow professional standards jointly formulated by boards of regents, presidents, and faculty in Texas and across the nation."

In his testimony before the committee, Evans emphasized the crucial role that faculty senates play in ensuring student success, highlighting how the University of Texas at Austin Faculty Council helped adapt teaching and grading during the pandemic to ensure safety and fairness for students, faculty, and staff.

University of Houston Faculty Senate President Holley Love testified that faculty senates are not political entities seeking to stop administrators' directives, but rather collaborative partners offering expertise and perspective as stakeholders in the university.

"Faculty senate is not a trade union … It is not a political action committee," she explained, adding that the senate supports relationships in the university and advises on curriculum in shared governance.

When Creighton questioned why faculty senates have initiated non-binding votes of no confidence, suggesting these were political actions against administrators, Texas A&M professor Leonard Bright, East Texas vice president of Texas AAUP-AFT, responded that such votes are only taken infrequently in rare circumstances: "It usually takes something very serious … This is just our voice."

While faculty senates serve in an advisory capacity on most university matters including curriculum, they do maintain one significant tool of accountability: the ability to hold a vote of no confidence in university leadership. Though these votes are symbolic rather than binding - only regents, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, can remove a president - they carry substantial weight. Research shows that these votes typically occur following concerns about fiscal management, violations of shared governance principles, or leadership conflicts.

Recent examples provide much-needed context for this discussion. At West Texas A&M University, the faculty senate initiated a no-confidence vote against President Walter Wendler after he canceled a campus drag show, a decision criticized by students and advocates as a violation of the freedom of speech. At UT-Austin, over 500 faculty members signed a letter in April 2024 expressing no confidence in President Jay Hartzell's leadership following his police response to pro-Palestinian protests and the termination of approximately 60 staff members, many in former DEI-related positions. However, this vote of no confidence against Hartzell was not taken by the university's faculty senate.

Professor Charlotte Canning, secretary of UT-Austin's Faculty Council, further defended faculty governance, emphasizing that the faculty council serves as "an elected, transparent body that cares deeply for the university" and that "I know it has a positive impact on Texas students."

The Impact of Overcompliance with SB 17

This hearing builds upon concerning trends from the 88th legislative session, when Creighton passed SB 17, legislation that banned DEI offices, training, programs, and staff members at higher education institutions. He also led an effort to ban tenure in Texas, a priority of Lt. Gov. Patrick in 2023. Since taking effect in January, dozens of staff members in DEI-related positions have lost their jobs at the UT-Austin, and students have lost access to resources that helped them find belonging on campus and access support resources, like the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and Gender and Sexuality Center. Similar terminations have occurred at institutions across the state, including at UT-Dallas, and the faculty terminated have disproportionately been people of color.

In addition to these terminations, overcompliance with SB 17 has resulted in negative impacts on research, grant funding, student scholarships, and student organizations.

The recent events at Texas A&M University reveal the impact that political pressure and fear of the Texas Legislature's interference are having on our institutions of higher education. The university recently announced plans to eliminate its LGBTQ+ studies minor and 51 other certificates or minors, a top-down decision that bypassed normal academic processes. While the university cited low enrollment as justification, faculty members note they have never had enrollment standards for minors and the university is using flawed data in its analysis. In his testimony, Texas A&M President Mark Welsh admitted these decisions were made without "sufficient" faculty input, though the programs will still be terminated despite the faculty senate governing board's vote against the cuts.

The attack on faculty governance has spread to other institutions as well. Citing SB 17 compliance, the University of North Texas recently eliminated three faculty senate committees focused on women faculty, faculty of color, and LGBTQ+ faculty, as well as all faculty and employee resource groups, including groups for new faculty, Christians, and staffers who are from other countries. While UNT administrators claim this doesn't change their commitment to providing a welcoming environment, these actions demonstrate how anti-DEI legislation is being used to systematically dismantle structures supporting marginalized campus communities.

Students and faculty members testified repeatedly to the importance of inclusive education. Kennedy Cortez, a recent UT graduate in neuroscience with a certificate in Indigenous studies, explained how diverse coursework enhanced their career preparedness: "It's like reaching into a toolbox … whenever you have other courses, like DEI courses, it allows you to have access to more tools to understand other people and create more solutions."

Evans further emphasized, "On campus, free inquiry, free expression, and open dissent are critical for student learning and the advancement of knowledge. For students to have the freedom to learn, faculty need the freedom to teach. Faculty fostering critical thinking in a wide range of topics helps students build the skills they need throughout their lives, including in the workforce. Students don't learn in a vacuum. This is why faculty and staff help students adjust and thrive on campus and help them connect with a wide range of learning and growth opportunities, both on and off campus. The Texas population is incredibly diverse, and our colleges and universities' policies, curricula, and programs should be inclusive of their constituents."

Dr. David Albert, president of Austin Community College AFT, spoke forcefully in support of academic freedom, characterizing the crucial role that higher education plays in developing students' critical thinking skills and exposing them to diverse perspectives.

Dr. Pauline Strong, UT's director of Native American and Indigenous Studies and president of the university's AAUP chapter, emphasized that faculty members teach cultural diversity, political inclusion, and civil discourse as essential workforce skills, noting, "We live in an extremely diverse state. To be an effective part of the workforce they have to learn to communicate across difference."

Indeed, training in cultural competency has been found to be crucial for people working in fields such as education, health care, and social work where employees are responsible for providing essential services to people from historically marginalized communities.

What This Means for Texas Higher Education

The targeting of both shared governance and so-called "DEI programs and certificates" suggests a coordinated effort to restrict academic freedom and limit democratic representation in higher education. The hearing made clear that legislative leadership intends to expand restrictions on academic freedom to target course content directly.

That conclusion is supported by looking at some of the names on the committee's invited testimony list, which included a representative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF). As Hotline readers remember, TPPF is a central hub of the dark-money network funding Gov. Abbott's private school voucher push.

That the organization appeared at this hearing on higher education governance and curriculum underscores the interrelated attacks on both public K-12 and higher education institutions. At the hearing, TPPF urged lawmakers to look at who is "controlling" curriculum on Texas college and university campuses and made the radical proposal to eliminate faculty autonomy over what they teach.

Texas AFT is proud to be affiliated with AAUP and remains committed to working alongside higher education faculty and staff in our community colleges and universities to defend academic freedom and shared governance. As we approach the 89th legislative session, Texas AAUP-AFT will continue to advocate for policies that protect academic freedom, promote inclusive education, and preserve the essential role of shared governance in our institutions of higher learning.

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