Contacts: Brian Evans, Interim President, Texas AAUP Conference, aaup.texas@gmail.com, and Polly Strong, President, UT Austin AAUP Chapter, strongpolly@gmail.com.

On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the UT Austin Administration issued 60-day termination notices to more than 60 professional staff who once did DEI work but pivoted before January 1, 2024, to comply with SB 17. [Ref]  Several of the staff also hold faculty positions.  Academic advisors and other professional staff in a teaching or training role have academic freedom to be able to do their job effectively.  Additionally, at least 15 Assistant and Associate Dean positions will be eliminated on May 31, 2024; faculty members in these roles will  be demoted and take a significant cut in pay but retain their faculty positions. [Ref]  The UT Austin Administration refuses to provide the number of employees who were fired, but we know that most of them are women and/or members of underrepresented minority groups.

The UT Austin AAUP Chapter, the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-AFT), and the Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT).  In addition, we’ve been putting pressure on the UT Austin Administration:

• Joint Press Release by Texas AAUP & Texas NAACP, Apr. 3, 2024.
• UT Austin AAUP Letter to the UT Austin President, Apr. 4, 2024.

Both statements have been picked up by local, state, and national media.  Please follow us on X @TexasAaup and @aaup_utAustin for timely updates and shares of all relevant press coverage.

AAUP champions academic freedom, advances shared governance, and organizes all faculty to promote economic security and quality education.  Organizing with AAUP will help us fight against other attempts at wrongful termination of former DEI employees as well as erosion of academic freedom and shared governance.

Here’s the link to join AAUP and several reasons to consider joining.  AAUP membership is open to adjunct, lecturer, instructional, professional, tenure-track, tenure, and retired faculty members as well as graduate students, librarians, researchers, and academic advisors and other professional staff.  

#NotOurTexas #DEI #academicfreedom #sharedgovernance #AAUP #TexasAAUP #UTAustinAAUP