Texas A&M University will shut down its women’s and gender studies program, revise the syllabuses of hundreds of courses and cancel six classes under a new policy that limits how faculty can address certain topics related to race and gender, university officials announced on Friday, according to the Associated Press.The decision follows months of internal review and campus tension after a video of a student confronting an instructor over lessons on gender identity went viral last year, drawing national attention to classroom instruction at one of the largest public universities in the United States.
University assurances on limited academic impact
University leaders said the impact of the changes would be limited and would not delay students’ progress toward graduation. The six canceled courses represent about 0.11% of the 5,400 courses offered this semester, the university said.“Strong oversight and standards protect academic integrity and restore public trust, guaranteeing that a degree from Texas A&M means something to our students and the people who will hire them,” interim president Tommy Williams said in a news release, AP reports. “That has been our focus through this process and will remain our focus as we move forward.”
Faculty and student protests raise academic freedom concerns
Faculty members and students, however, have raised concerns that the policy restricts academic freedom. Hundreds gathered on campus on Thursday evening to protest the changes.“They have reduced this marketplace of ideas to now emphasizing or promoting a certain view when it comes to race, gender, and sexuality,” Leonard Bright, president of the American Association of University Professors A&M chapter, told AP. “That view is erasing the experiences of people of color and the LGBTQ+ community.”
A system-wide review of courses and exemptions
The announcement came after the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the policy in November, prompting a university-wide review of course content. Faculty were allowed to request exemptions for courses flagged under the policy. Of the 54 courses sent to Williams for review, 48 were granted exceptions.The canceled courses were spread across multiple colleges, including the Bush School of Government and Public Service, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Education and Human Development.
Why the women’s and gender studies programme was ended
University officials said the decision to end the women’s and gender studies program was partly based on low enrollment, according to AP. Williams declined to make himself available for media interviews.In a January 12 statement, Williams acknowledged unease on campus over the changes but said the university’s responsibility remained focused on students.
A first-of-its-kind policy in Texas public universities
The policy appears to mark the first time a public university system in Texas has formally set limits on what faculty can discuss in classrooms on race and gender topics. Other university systems in the state have also begun reviewing course offerings following the passage of a new state law.Bright, whose graduate-level ethics course was canceled, said faculty members have begun censoring themselves out of fear.“They sent out a chilling message to the faculty that people were going to be fired for teaching topics some conservatives disagree with,” Bright said, according to AP.
Classroom restrictions and disputed boundaries
At Thursday’s protest, philosophy professor Martin Peterson said the policy had restricted his ability to teach certain texts by Plato. University officials have said Plato is not banned.The policy changes follow the September firing of Melissa McCoul, a senior lecturer in the English department, after a video circulated showing her arguing with a student over gender identity in a children’s literature class. Her dismissal came after political pressure from Republican lawmakers, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott.Soon after McCoul’s termination, then university president Mark A. Welsh III resigned.
Support from conservative lawmakers
Republican state Representative Brian Harrison praised the decision to end the women’s and gender studies program, calling it a victory for taxpayers in a post on the social media platform X.
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