Professors in Texas voice concerns of academic climate at universities

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) — A survey from the American Association of University Professors suggests growing discontent among professors teaching in Texas.

Of the 1,162 respondents from Texas, nearly half said they plan to apply for an out-of-state job, or already have.

“A large majority have said they do not like the climate for higher education in Texas,” said University of North Georgia professor Matthew Boedy, who conducted the survey. “One of the questions was ‘why you were applying for another job.’ The reasons that I listed included broad political climate and that led the answers.”

The report also reflected other concerns of disgruntlement. More than 60% of Texas professors said they would not encourage graduate students or other colleagues to teach in the state. Among the 12 states included in the “Faculty in the South Survey,” that number was the highest for Texas participants.

“That is a couple of percentage points higher than the other 11 states,” Boedy said.

The survey’s findings were released just before two controversial firings in Texas this week. On Tuesday, a Texas State professor was fired after being accused of inciting violence while discussing political resistance.

Earlier that day, a Texas A&M professor was fired after receiving backlash for including LGBTQ+ materials in the curriculum for a children’s literature course.

“I think that, obviously, the president gave into political pressure to fire this particular senior instructor who was teaching the children’s literature class,” added Boedy. “The reason given was that the syllabi didn’t match the course catalog. To me, I think that’s absurd.”

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