Texas Tech faculty say Republican anti-LGBTQ+ curriculum rules are driving professors away

New Texas Tech University guidelines eliminating references to sexual orientation and gender identity from coursework forced nearly half of surveyed faculty members to make changes they described as harmful to their curricula.

Survey results released by the school’s Faculty Senate showed broad disapproval among educators regarding a memo issued by the university’s chancellors last year.

About 50 percent of faculty reported altering their curriculum as a result of the memos, with 25 percent of those saying they were specifically directed by administrators to change their course content. Although the guidelines were intended to exempt ongoing research and service activities, the survey found that 7 percent of faculty were asked to alter their research in response to the new guidelines, and another 18 percent chose to do so.

Related: Texas Tech University bans teaching, researching LGBTQ+ topics

The survey found that only 10 percent of faculty at the school felt the guidelines had a positive impact on their coursework.

The policies appear to be contributing to a significant faculty retention problem, with many instructors considering leaving the institution altogether.

“The Chancellors’ Memos had a negative impact on faculty retention, with 46% concerned about their tenure and/or promotion, and 52% considering jobs at other universities,” according to a memo released by the Faculty Senate. “When asked about implementation of the Chancellors’ Memos, only 30% of faculty thought expectations from upper administrators were clear, while only 34% felt supported by upper administrators.”

Some of the comments submitted in the survey offered more blunt assessments.

“I will be leaving my job in the coming months because of this, I cannot and will not work at a place like this and I will tell my network to not come here (students and faculty),” read one remark.

Texas Tech University officials outlined the changes earlier this year and in April formally implemented a phaseout of all academic programming related to sexual orientation and gender identity. School leaders say they expect that process to be complete by June 15. The policy includes an Alternate Materials Rule requiring the substitution of materials that focus on gender and sexuality, with a strict prohibition on those subjects in undergraduate courses.

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But faculty said the policies, in addition to being controversial, were implemented with remarkable confusion and inconsistency.

“I received guidance from the Regents ACS to change 1 week's worth of readings for my course,” read one faculty remark. “This guidance was handed to me in early May (no electronic paper trail). It was composed by AI and filled with inaccuracies. My instructions of what to change were for someone else's course!”

Some faculty did offer fervent support for the changes. But even they voiced concerns that the restrictions could stifle intellectual inquiry.

“I think the decentering of left-wing activism in our educational system is a good thing. I’ve had conservative students tell me they had to pretend to hold positions they don’t actually believe just to pass classes,” read one faculty member’s remarks.

“I’m not sure barring graduate students from studying certain topics is the right solution. But there does need to be an expansion of theories students are exposed to, and professors shouldn’t be afraid of teaching points of view with which they disagree. Critical thinking means equipping students to think through why they disagree or agree with certain theories. It’s up to the students, not the professors, to decide what theories are compelling to them. The Academy should embrace more debate and open conversation. At the same time, I think students, staff, and faculty who sincerely believe and theorize that there is a gender binary should not be shamed into silence.”

But many faculty members said the policy changes have created problems not only for instructors but also for the broader campus environment.

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“It is very disheartening and depressing to teach under these conditions; my students (over 300) almost to a person, are pissed and think the Chancellor has so disrespected them and their own capacity to think independently, critically, and analytically,” one faculty member wrote.

“It is so incredibly damaging to education at TTU to pit the students against their teachers (to report them if they feel violated) and make we teachers suspect of our students in the classroom - the whole thing can create a toxic and anti-learning atmosphere. The TTU System needs to trust its employees to do right by our students - the distrust, suspicion, and disrespect I feel as a teacher at an institution for which I have worked for … years and given everything to my students is akin to stabbing me both in my head and in my heart.”