AAUP@UT

American Association of University Professors at UT Austin.

On X @TexasAaup & @aaup_utAustin and Bluesky @texasaaup & @utaustinaaup.

Authors speaking as private individuals. Part of Texas AAUP-AFT. Join. Reasons to Join.

Texas AAUP-AFT Fall 2024 Meeting

Sep. 28, 2024, 9:00am-1:00pm CT, on Zoom and in Person.
Here’s a link to join AAUP and several additional reasons to join AAUP.
Follow us on X @TexasAaup and @aaup_utAustin for the latest updates.

60th anniversary of Texas AAUP and 50th anniversary of Texas AFT

All presenters are speaking for themselves as private individuals.
They are not speaking on behalf of any institution of higher education.

Agenda

I.   Welcome, faculty survival tips, affiliation with Texas AFT

Texas AAUP-AFT President Brian Evans introduced other union leaders

  • Texas AFT: Attorney Sarai King Oza, from Deats, Durst, and Owen
  • Texas AFT: Alejandro Pena, Government Relations (Texas House)
  • Texas Association of College Teachers: Jim Klein, Past President
  • Texas Faculty Association: Pat Heintzelman, President

Members voted and approved the following:

Texas AAUP-AFT Office of Faculty Representation, Brian Evans and Tony Villanueva

  • Email: txconfaaup-facultyrepresentation@proton.me
  • For faculty facing investigations, discipline, or dismissal, you are not alone! We have your back. We’ll be available to
    • go with you at any meeting to advocate for you
    • give advice on navigating your situation
    • provide a list of attorneys for information purposes
  • In these settings, administrators and investigators are not on your side.
  • As a tactic, administrators and investigators will
    • call a meeting to “ambush” a faculty member with allegations, and many faculty will react to clear their name and overshare.
    • choose to say things that are not true or misleading to see what information you would share.
  • Record all meetings with administrators and investigators.  Texas is a one-party recording state.  You don’t have to notify others or obtain their permission.  More info.
  • Your work email account is not private because administrators can obtain access. Use private email accounts and secure messaging (e.g. WhatsApp or Signal) for non-work matters.
  • Backup important email messages and files onto non-work accounts if permitted. A college or university can disable your access to work e-mail and other work platforms at any time.

New Member Benefits 

New Texas AAUP-AFT Dues Structure, Brian Evans

  • Now that Texas AAUP-AFT is an AFT Local of Texas AFT, we’ll be updating our dues model to build our legal defense fund and help cover the cost of Texas AFT staff and productivity tools.
  • New dues combine dues for Texas AFT, National AAUP, National AFT:
    • $451/yr for academic income above $80k (AAUP bands 7-9)
    • $305/yr for academic income between $50k-80K
    • $155/yr for academic income $50k and under
  • New Texas AAUP-AFT registration link launched Sept. 27, 2024. Payment is monthly through a bank draft. More manageable payments than the usual annual renewals for AAUP membership.

2. Political Interference, Legislative Advocacy & Political Action Panel

  • Brian L. Evans, Texas AAUP-AFT President:
  • Anthony Elmo, Texas AFT Director of Political Organizing, advocates for shared interests of K-12 and Higher Education expressed in the Texas AFT Educator’s Bill of Rights, and directs the Committee on Political Education (COPE) to give info about voter registration, voting, and candidate positions on public K-12 and higher ed
  • Christina Das, NAACP Legal Defense Fund Civil Rights Attorney.
    • Q: Ok to encourage students in the classroom to register to vote?
    • A: Yes for all eligible voters.  A QR code given to learn more.
  • Teresa Klein, Texas AAUP-AFT VP, spoke about Project 2025.

3. David Rabban, Academic Freedom: From Professional Norm to First Amendment Right, Harvard University Press, Aug. 2024.

  • Prof. David Rabban is at the UT Austin Law School. He served as AAUP General Counsel 1998-2006 and Chair of AAUP Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure from 2006-2012. “His teaching and research focus on free speech, higher education and the law, and American legal history.” [Ref]
  • Professional norm for Academic Freedom established by the AAUP dating back to the 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure:
    • Academic Freedom is necessary for the function of a professor
    • Peer review feature of academic freedom.
    • What is the relationship between academic freedom and the general political expression outside their expertise
  • A professor cannot do their job to have findings that offend someone leads to their firing
  • Extending Academic Freedom to political speech
  • The whole point of academic freedom is
    • Professors should have the rights as anyone else
    • Societal interest in the production and dissemination of knowledge
  • Professors in Classics should be able to apply lessons to contemporary topics
  • First five investigations by AAUP after 1915 involved protected speech
    • 1917: Donor said they would give $10M to Harvard if a certain faculty member who opposed US involvement in World War I would be dismissed. The Harvard President separated academic freedom from political speech, and said both should be protected.
  • Legal cases of academic freedom began in 1950’s.
    • Sweezy v New Hampshire 1957 – Academic freedom is a First Amendment right, and differentiated First Amendment free speech from academic freedom
    • Keyishian v Board of Regents – Academic freedom is a special concern of the 1st amendment – seminal case (cited many times)
  • First amendment protections apply to state (government) actors, not private actors, but some private universities voluntarily give First Amendment protections
  • Hundreds of lower court decisions say academic freedom is a First Amendment Right
    • Generally – applies to the content of academic speech. 
    • Some rulings limit academic freedom to content.
  • Academic freedom protects legitimate pedagogical decisions for your course
    • Giving materials and instructions to the students in a classroom to register to vote is not likely protected by academic freedom.
  • Discussion of intramural issues usually protected by academic speech.
  • Outside speech and political speech not necessarily academic freedom, but have free speech rights.
  • Rabban’s argues the following two statements should be incorporated into First Amendment Law
  • Even though legal cases recognize academic freedom, courts do not always use academic freedom as a criterion to decide a case.
  • Determining what is protected speech of the professor
  • Employee Speech Juris Prudence – speech rights of public employees
    • Garcetti v Ceballos – “speech of public employees not protected when in the course of normal job duties” – BUT does not apply decision on public employee speech to faculty academic speech
  • Other Court of Appeals cases recognize Garcetti exception:
    • Meriweather v. Hartop 2021
    • Pickering standard – two-prong weight
      • Professor’s speech rights outweighs right of institution for efficient operation.
      • Issue is of Public Concern
  • There is a public interest in the professor’s dissemination of knowledge.
  • Questions
    • Has 5th circuit recognized academic freedom as free speech?
    • Ok to encourage students in the classroom to register to vote?
      Not likely protected by academic freedom
    • How much speech related to university governance is protected? Conflicting decisions by the courts.

Common Themes in AAUP Campus Chapter Reports

  • Issues mentioned by AAUP chapters at public campuses
    • Texas Senate Higher Education Priorities for Spring 2025
      • Increase diversity, equity, and inclusion restrictions in SB 17
      • Regulate faculty senates
      • Crackdown on weakened tenure protections in SB 18
      • Update the public junior college state finance program in HB 8
      • Evaluate state laws concerning free speech on public campuses
      • Examine programs and certificates at higher ed institutions that maintain diversity, equity, and inclusion policies
    • Texas SB 17 that bans DEI programs and practices
      • Overcompliance infringing on academic freedom in teaching, curriculum, and communication of research results
      • Overcompliance causing research grants to be returned and preventing research proposals from being submitted
      • Faculty are self-censoring content in courses
  • Issues mentioned by AAUP chapters at public and private campuses
    • Shared governance and central administrations
      • Administrators advance economic rather than academic values
      • Administration bypasses faculty senate in making decisions
      • Epidemic of Interim Administrators
      • Priority by the Texas Senate to regulate “faculty senates’
    • Salary
      • Compression– faculty of a lower rank making higher salary
      • Administrative bloat– exponential increase in number of administrative positions along with excessively high salaries and raises for administrators (20% raise vs. 2% for faculty)
      • Low and high enrollments affecting campus budgets
    • Faculty workload policies
      • Increased expectations for research without appropriate administrative support or reduction in teaching load
    • General counsel and compliance officers having unchecked power
    • Collegiality. For faculty, AAUP recommends evaluating teaching, scholarship, and service. Collegiality should not be separate but can be included in the three categories. AAUP Statement.
    • Dual Enrollment Courses
      • must comply with higher ed laws and campus policies, but many K-12 students, parents, and principals are expecting compliance with K-12 laws and K-12 school policies
      • faculty are being reassigned to serve dual credit against their will, and certain faculty are being excluded with due process
    • Campus protests.
      • Harsh penalties for protesters
      • New policies limiting free speech. AAUP statement.
  • Issues mentioned only by AAUP chapters at private universities
    • Title VI complaints filed against faculty concerning what they are teaching. Opaque processes. Threatens academic freedom.
    • Administrator interference in faculty searches
      •  interviewing and advancing candidates the faculty search committee did not recommend
      • placing administrators in faculty search committees without the approval of the search committee chair.

AAUP Campus Chapters

  • In Texas: AAUP chapters on 28 campuses and members on 75 campuses
  • 12 new AAUP chapters have formed so far this year!
  • Community Colleges
    • Austin Community College AFT Local – David Albert (President)
    • Dallas College AAUP Chapter (not present)
    • Del Mar College AAUP Chapter – Teresa Klein (President)
    • Lone Star AFT Local – John Burghduff (not present)
    • Alamo College District – Tony Villanueva (Convener)
  • Private Universities
    • Hardin-Simmons AAUP Chapter (not present)
    • Rice University AAUP Chapter – Don Morrison (VP)
    • SMU AAUP Chapter (not present)
    • Southwestern University AAUP Chapter – Maria Lowe (not present)
    • TCU AAUP Chapter – Rebecca Sharpless (not present)
    • Trinity University AAUP Chapter – Tahir Naqvi (President)
    • University of Dallas AAUP Chapter – John Osoinach (President)
  • Texas A&M System
    • Prairie View A&M AAUP Chapter – David Rembert (President)
    • Tarleton State AAUP Chapter – Reggie Hall (not present)
    • Texas A&M AAUP Chapter – Tom Blasingame (President)
    • Texas A&M Corpus Christi AAUP – Kelly Bezio (President)
    • Texas A&M San Antonio AAUP Chapter – Martha Saywell (VP)
    • West Texas A&M AAUP Chapter – Ryan Brooks (President)
  • Texas Southern University – Cary Wintz (not present)
  • Texas State System
    • Texas State University AAUP Chapter – Patrick Smith (Convener)
    • Sam Houston State University AAUP Chapter – Mike Vaughn (VP)
    • Sul Ross University AAUP Chapter (not present)
    • Lamar University AAUP Chapter – Pat Heintzelman (President)
  • Texas Tech University AAUP Chapter – Andrew Martin (President)
  • Texas Woman’s University AAUP Chapter – Diana Hynds (President)
  • University of Houston AAUP Chapter – Daniel Morales (not present)
  • University of North Texas – Todd Moye (not present)
  • UT System
    • UT Arlington AAUP Chapter – Penny Ingram (President)
    • UT Austin AAUP Chapter – Polly Strong (President)
    • UT Dallas AAUP Chapter – Simon Fass (President)
    • UT MD Anderson AAUP Chapter – Bill Wierda (not present)
    • UT Permian Basin – Derek Catsam (not present)
    • UT Rio Grande Valley AAUP Chapter – Dora Saavedra (President)
    • UT San Antonio AAUP Chapter – Alistair Welchman (not present)

Additional Information on Agenda Topics

About AAUP. AAUP advocates

  • for free inquiry, free expression, and open dissent, which are critical for student learning and the advancement of knowledge
  • against infringement on academic freedom and its safeguards of tenure, due process, and shared governance

Since 1915, AAUP has been the central organizing force in higher ed in its widely adopted principles on academic freedom and shared governance and its 42,000 members and 500 campus chapters championing these principles.

Texas AAUP-AFT Conference

  • Provides mentoring & professional development for network of scholars
  • Mobilizes members on 75 public and private campuses for action
  • Helps faculty navigate policies, investigations, and grievances
  • Advocates at the Legislature – garnered bipartisan support to change tenure from one-year contracts to continuous employment last session

In March 2024, Texas AAUP affiliated with Texas American Federation of Teachers to amplify

  • Campus and Legislative advocacy from its 66,000 members & 40 staff
  • Workplace protections including liability coverage and legal aid

Texas Higher Ed ecosystem.  Our public and private colleges and universities collaborate in teaching, research, and community outreach.  Graduates of our private institutions become faculty members at our public institutions, and vice-versa.  From our Texas AAUP survey in Fall 2024, faculty at public and private institutions reported the political climate in Texas was interfering significantly with recruiting and retaining faculty.  We’re in this together!

SB 18.  How do I fire thee?  Let me count the ways…  Although SB 18 defines 10 reasons for regular and summary dismissal for tenured faculty, public colleges and universities have been using SB 18 to dismiss non-tenure track and tenure-track faculty as well.  Of the 10 reasons, seven are vague or undefined.  All reasons can be weaponized by administrations.  SB 18 is now in law as Texas Education Code 51.942.

SB 17 bans certain DEI programs and practices in public colleges and universities. Although SB 17 has exceptions for academic course instruction and research, it has a chilling effect on both.  Certain discussions about DEI by faculty outside academic course instruction and research can be construed as training, which can lead to termination under SB 17.  Several administrations are over-complying with SB 17. Texas AAUP provides guidance on anti-DEI SB17 and its exceptions for academic course instruction, scholarly research, and creative works.

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