UT Faculty Say Conservatization of the School Is a Long Time Coming
When Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stepped to a microphone last month and announced his plan to effectively end the tenure system and the teaching of critical race theory at UT-Austin, faculty and administrators across the university recoiled.
But many weren't shocked. While the announcement last week made headlines and drew near-universal condemnation, a number of observers in Austin have taken it as just another part of a years-long effort to push the state's flagship university in a more conservative direction.
According to UT Government Department professor Bryan Jones, a crackdown of this magnitude on academic freedom at the university would have serious consequences. "We're heading [toward becoming a second-rate university] real fast," Jones said. "There's no doubt in my mind we will not stay in the top tier very long."
The perceived rightward shift has taken a toll already. One former staffer who departed UT in the last year, due in part to frustration with that shift, said a number of their former colleagues – particularly their BIPOC colleagues – have either left or are considering leaving too. "I know so many people who really thought that this was where they were going to work for the rest of their careers who are leaving en masse ... It's just sad."
Read more: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2022-03-11/ut-faculty-say-conservatization-of-the-school-is-a-long-time-coming/