Report Suggests Texas Professors Are Fleeing Over Restrictions

A report at Insider Higher Ed sees a problem emerging at public universities in Texas: Faculty members are walking away because they say new state policies prevent them from teaching freely, writes Emma Whitford. She logs examples at schools including Texas Tech, the University of Texas, and Texas A&M. One philosophy professor at the latter school, for example, was told he had to drop Plato's Symposium because it violated guidelines on gender and sexuality content. At Texas Tech, one departing historian says he dropped Joan of Arc from his medieval history course because her story is inseparable from questions of gender, and Romeo and Juliet came off the syllabus because they have sex in Act III.

The policies vary by system but share a common theme: Course materials are being screened, "controversial" topics discouraged, and new hiring steered away from gender- and sexuality-related work. Faculty say the policies are sometimes deliberately ambiguous, which encourages self-censorship and creates a chilling effect not just in teaching but potentially in research and hiring. Another common theme among those interviewed is concern over the value of the education students are receiving, especially with the restrictions receiving national attention. Read the full story, which suggests a quiet but meaningful brain drain is underway.