Academic Freedom Alliance Letter to Texas A&M

Professor suspended for criticizing policies of Texas lieutenant governor

The Academic Freedom Alliance released a public letter to the Texas A&M University System regarding its suspension and investigation of Prof. Joy Alonzo for statements she made as a guest lecturer in a class about the policies of Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. Patrick is well known for his attacks on higher education, recently pushing to ban tenure at state universities. Texas A&M was quick to try to mollify him when he got wind of a professor criticizing him.

The story was first broken by the Texas Tribune. Alonzo, a professor of pharmacy practice, was serving as a guest lecturer in a medical school class at the University of Texas discussing the opioid crisis. During the class, she apparently made some critical remarks regarding Patrick's resistance to Alonzo's favored policy responses. A student in the class complained to her mother, the Texas land commissioner, who in turn informed Patrick's office. Patrick's office pointed Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp at Alonzo. Sharp immediately had her suspended and launched an investigation into potentially firing her. Meanwhile, both the University of Texas and Texas A&M sent internal emails cautioning professors against saying critical things about Texas politicians.

From the letter:

The American Association of University Professors has long emphasized that the freedom of classroom teaching includes the right of professors to introduce into the classroom controversial but relevant materials. The AAUP's 2007 report on freedom in the classroom emphasized that "ideas that are germane to a subject under discussion in a classroom cannot be censored because a student with particular religious or political beliefs might be offended." It would be "inimical to the free and vigorous exchange of ideas necessary for teaching and learning in higher education" if professors could be sanctioned because of the reaction of one or more students to the words and ideas being discussed. State university professors should be free to express criticism of state government officials and public policy when such matters are relevant to topics under discussion in a class.

Alonzo has since been reinstated, but the Faculty Senate at Texas A&M is demanding answers on what procedures were followed in this instance. This is the second black eye for Texas A&M arising out of political interventions in academic affairs.

The behavior of both Texas A&M and the University of Texas in this incident shows the fear being created in some state universities as a result of political threats directed against those universities. The climate for open inquiry in such states is deteriorating.

Again from the letter:

The Academic Freedom Alliance stands firmly behind Professor Alonzo in this matter. The university needs to take explicit steps to reaffirm its commitment to academic freedom and to reassure the faculty that they will not be threatened with termination if they say critical things about state policy when the discussion of such policies is entirely germane to the courses being taught.

Read the whole thing here.