Faculty at the University of Texas at Austin are raising their alarm. They worry that, with newly installed provost William Inboden at the helm, whole departments in the liberal arts could face large-scale cuts or complete annihilation. Inboden’s case got an extensive treatment in a 7,000-word manifesto—published as an issue brief—in National Affairs. His vision of the university’s future has raised many alarms, however, about the institution’s compass direction—and devotion to a wide range of academic disciplines.
In his manifesto, Inboden raised the alarm on a non-existent crisis of “legitimacy and trust” in U.S. higher education. He described much of this crisis as stemming from what he terms the “identity-studies framework.” He’s concerned that this vague framework erodes the type of rigorous, high-level academic standards. His comments are a welcome sign that the administration is reprioritizing. This reduction would threaten higher ed programs in the liberal arts, particularly those focused on identity studies.
The university’s president disregarded faculty members and unilaterally imposed appointment of a 12-person faculty advisory board. This is significant because it was the first time that a president was appointed without faculty involvement. Critics argue that this lack of transparency raises concerns about governance and the future of academic freedom at UT Austin.
In response, UT Austin has created a taskforce to conduct a holistic review of the core curriculum. This group comprises 18 professors who are not members of the four departments threatened with dissolution. So far, many faculty are not particularly optimistic about the task force’s sincerity or dedication. They challenge their perception that it really does honor inclusive representation and all fields of study.
UT Austin’s decision to abolish its diversity programs was a highly publicized and highly controversial move. Consequently, around 60 staff associated with these programs lost their positions. These actions have prompted fears that the university is moving away from fostering an inclusive environment that supports various academic pursuits.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the university was one of the first institutions to receive preferential access to federal funding during the onset of the Trump administration. This access was contingent on the university completely reforming its internal policies to fit the administration’s agenda. UT Austin’s leaders still have not taken up President Trump on his challenge to this funding.
Faculty are becoming more and more alarmed. They fear the consequences of a new state law (SB37) that went into effect on September 1. The tentative law ends public university faculty senates. It provides state administrators near-blanket authority to establish the terms of governance, choking out any remaining faculty influence on university policy.
“It’s a horrible, horrible climate right now,” said Craig Campbell, an anthropology professor at UT Austin. His comments are indicative of a growing frustration amongst faculty that the changes imposed in recent years have been corrosive to the core of their disciplines.
Julie Minich is a senior lecturer in the departments of English and Mexican American and Latina/o Studies. … What really got me about Inboden’s manifesto was what it means for my field. Minich remarked, “We really took this article as an indication of hostility for our field.” She emphasized the importance of academic freedom in her teaching approach:
“My goal in the classroom is never to tell students what to think. It’s to give them tools for how to think about a complicated world, and the fact that I feel that I’m being prevented from doing that seems to me to be a real problem.” – Julie Minich
The America First Policy Institute has previously spoken out on these matters. Further, they claim that disciplines ending in “Studies” tend to be more activist than scholarly. Their 2014 report recommended a number of straightforward remedies to address the issue of grade inflation. One proposal is to cut out disciplines that have little rigor, like these majors of study.
As UT Austin navigates these changes under new leadership, many within the university community are left questioning the future of liberal arts education. Depending on how deep these cuts and restructuring go, they could make long-term changes that materially affect students and faculty members.