From Aug. 14 to Sep. 1, 2023, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas AAUP as well as Texas Faculty Association conducted a survey of faculty in their states. Survey found that an overwhelming majority of faculty who responded are deeply dissatisfied with the current state of higher education:

• About 2/3 do not recommend their state to colleagues as desirable to work
• About 1/3 are actively seeking academic jobs elsewhere
• About 1/5 have already interviewed for jobs in other states since 2021

In Texas, the primary reason for leaving was political climate followed by salary.

• Press Releases: Regional – Florida – Georgia – North Carolina – Texas
• News articles: Chronicle of Higher Ed – Texas Tribune – Houston Chronicle – Dallas Morning News – Reform Austin – Kera News – The Daily Texan (UT Austin)
• Slides: “Texas AAUP / TFA Survey”, Sept. 30, 2023
• Handouts: Texas Demographic Shifts – Tenured and tenure-track faculty fuel college and university research funding and stature – Tenure is vital for being competitive for Federal research grants – Higher Education DEI Funding for STEM Workforce Development
• Related stories: Kennedy Sessions, “Rice University president says TX politics pushing away new staff hires“, Houston Chronicle, Oct. 3, 2023.

Academic freedom is the freedom from censorship by the institution or the government.  In the US, safeguards for academic freedom for professors include due process, shared governance, and tenure.  In Texas, all 38 four-year public universities and about one-third of the ~50 community college districts offer tenured and tenure-track faculty positions.

Tenure.  “A tenured appointment is an indefinite appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency and program discontinuation”. [AAUP] Tenure is a vital protection for professors in developing, discussing, and disseminating knowledge from all viewpoints, including conservative, moderate, liberal, and apolitical. Tenure allows the full freedom to foster critical thinking and intellectual exploration by students. Tenured professors take on long-term curriculum development, research projects, and leadership positions vital to students. Tenure-track professors are rigorously evaluated in teaching, research, and service over a six-year period by internal and external experts, and those who do not earn tenure are dismissed. About 50% of the faculty at UT Austin and 70% at Texas A&M University are either tenured or on the tenure track, as is common for Tier-1 Research Universities.