Texas Senate approves ban on tenure for university and college professors

[dalton99a]

Last edited Thu Apr 20, 2023, 09:29 PM - Edit history (1)

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/texas-senate-approves-ban-on-tenure-for-university-and-college-professors

Texas Senate approves ban on tenure for university and college professors
by Michael Adkison | Thu, April 20th 2023, 5:39 PM CDT

AUSTIN, Texas — A bill passed by the Texas Senate on Thursday would ban public universities and colleges from granting tenure to professors, a Republican priority from Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.

Senate Bill 18, authored by Conroe Republican Brandon Creighton, would ban the practice of tenure, which grants academics assurance of employment regardless of their personal beliefs or discussions.

Sen. Creighton called the tenure practice "outdated and costly," saying it limits academic integrity by ensuring employment regardless of performance. Republican legislatures across the country have scrutinized tenure in recent years, with many working on "tenure reviews" every few years. Texas, though, is largely leading the way to an outright ban on tenure altogether.

In February 2021, Patrick lashed out at the University of Texas Faculty Council, which approved a resolution encouraging "academic freedom" to teach critical race theory and similar topics. In a Tweet, Patrick labeled the council "looney Marxist UT professors" and said he would not allow them to "poison the minds of young students with Critical Race Theory."

Since then, Patrick has publicly criticized higher education professors, even saying in his inauguration speech that he wanted to directly address their actions on multiple fronts. This session, he followed through, by effectively banning the education of critical race theory in higher education last week and now moving to ban tenured roles in higher education.

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In other news:

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/19/texas-senate-dei-universities/

Texas Senate approves bill that would ban diversity programs in public universities
The legislation heads to the Texas House, where members have been more muted about the proposal to disband offices, programs and training that foster diversity.
by Kate McGee | April 19, 2023

After hours of contentious debate, the Texas Senate approved a bill Wednesday that would largely restrict how the state’s public universities can promote equitable access to higher education and cultivate diversity among students, faculty and staff.

Senate Bill 17 was approved along party lines in a 19 to 12 vote. It would require universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion offices, which have become a mainstay on campuses across the country as schools try to boost faculty diversity and help students from all backgrounds succeed. The bill would also ban mandatory diversity training and restrict hiring departments from asking for diversity statements, essays in which job applicants talk about their commitment to building diverse campuses.

Senators who opposed the legislation argued that it would make people from underrepresented groups feel less welcome, turn back efforts to correct past discrimination and halt progress toward making campuses more representative of the state’s population. They also expressed concerns that it would make it harder for universities to receive research funding from federal agencies or private organizations that consider commitments to diversity when awarding grants.

“The consequences range from the unknown to the dire,” said Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo. “Senate Bill 17 will be a giant step backward in our quest for equal opportunity and equal worth for all. … I worry that stifling diversity, equity and inclusion on our academic campuses … will breed the negative attitudes and behaviors typically attributed to ignoramuses while stifling the development of tolerant, enlightened communities.”

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[Johonny]

1. Texas about to become non-competitive for top professors

Hard to compete against schools offering tenured position when you have a state ban.

[leftieNanner]

4. My daughter just took an asst Prof position

In Massachusetts. There were openings in Texas. She didn't even consider them.

That will continue.

Brain drain.

[Johonny]

11. I went to Rice

I have several friends with tenure at A&M. Can't imagine them staying if they remove tenure. Someone will give them an offer they can't refuse to move.

[leftieNanner]

12. Rice is a fantastic school

They had a job in her field.

And Professor Poaching is a thing, she tells me.

[Johonny]

13. Indeed it is

My one friend got Poached from a Florida school to a Texas school. Obviously promised tenure was part of the carrot to move.

[Paladin]

2. Dan Patrick is a piece of shit, as usual.

God help us if Patrick ever becomes Governor. He'll make us look back on the Abbott years as the Good Old Days.

[Trenzalore]

3. These red states are about to become an educational backwater

Of course, all the locals care about are the basketball and football teams so be it.

[hatrack]

5. What TX loses in the way of talent, MA/MN/CA/NY and many more states will gain

Win-win!!

[tinrobot]

9. Those states get the smart people, but Texas ensures it's Senate seats are red

Definitely not win-win

We actually need more liberals moving to Texas, not less. Turn the state blue.

[LostOne4Ever]

10. Texas will never turn blue.

Texas’ history of bigotry and hate goes back over 150 years to civil war. It was a bigoted slave state and it is still a bigoted confederate state.

It is an engrained part of the state’s soul. That will not change in any of our lifetimes

Wisconsin is a better target.

[Freethinker65]

6. So Texas and Florida are going ahead with destroying their public education.

What other States will join them? Louisiana? Idaho? Missouri?

[yardwork]

14. Republicans in North Carolina are trying to destroy the state universities.

Now that they have a veto-proof majority, this may be next.

[Marthe48]

16. oh, wv

ky, tn and on and on

Hoping a blue wave stops this nonsense

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Soon a diploma from Texas or Florida will be nothing more than

an expensive piece of paper.

[tinrobot]

8. Educated people tend to skew liberal.

Better hound them out of the state before they try something crazy - like voting.

[yardwork]

15. So faculty could be fired for any reason, like teaching something a politician dislikes.

That's exactly why tenure was created in the first place: to protect academic freedom. It made the US one of the best engines of higher education in the world.

These fascists are destroying our civilization.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

17. K&R