Tenure will remain at public universities in Texas, but new standards for revocation of tenure have been codified, including "moral turpitude" (without any definition or requirement for a criminal conviction) and "unprofessional conduct" that "adversely affects the institution." What if a faculty member participates in a drag show? Is that "moral turpitude"? What if a faculty member tweets something controversial or vulgar, that attracts unfavorable media attention: is that "unprofessional conduct" that "adversely affects the institution"? There will be First Amendment challenges to some of the potential applications of these new standards, which are highly unusual and not at all part of standard AAUP criteria for tenure revocation. Here's what the Texas chapter of the AAUP had to say:
"We do not believe that such a codification is necessary; furthermore, we are concerned with dangerously broad grounds for termination in the bill as well as the lack of the due process provisions recommended by the AAUP and adopted by more than 1,300 colleges and universities nationally, including many in Texas," said Brian Evans, vice president of Texas chapter of the AAUP. "Nevertheless, the legislation passed by the House and Senate improves dramatically on the original bill, and we are grateful to the legislators, faculty, staff, students, and professional organizations whose work contributed to the amended bill."
A polite statement, which given the new standards for revocation, was probably prudent. I, on the other hand, can observe that the Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is a reactionary theocrat and ignoramus, and a disgrace to civilization. While the worst outcome has been avoided, this legislation is fraught with the potential for serious mischief. Current administrators at UT Austin, Texas A&M and other elite research institutions will proceed cautiously, aware of the reputational and recruitment damage that would result from aggressive use of these new grounds for revocation of tenure, but I strongly suspect the next step for the fascists in the legislature will be to replace the current university leadership with political hacks, who will do their bidding (vide former Republican Senatore Sasse as the new President of the University of Florida).
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