UT department consolidation clouds institution's future
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The consolidation of a few University of Texas departments leaves major questions for faculty and students about the future and stability of the institution, some university professors say.
Why it matters: UT is operating under increased political strain as leadership seeks to satisfy Republican lawmakers who control the university's pursestrings.
The latest: Late last week, university president Jim Davis announced the consolidation of seven ethnic and gender studies departments into two new departments.
- The departments of African and African Diaspora Studies; American Studies; Mexican American and Latina/o Studies; and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies will be consolidated into a new Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.
- The departments of French and Italian; Germanic Studies; and Slavic and Eurasian Studies will be folded into the Department of European and Eurasian Studies.
Zoom in: Davis said the move was about stewardship of university resources.
- "Our students deserve our best effort to organize thoughtfully and effectively to serve their needs, maintain public trust and fulfill our public mission," he wrote.
- He added that he had not determined what majors would be available going forward, but that students currently enrolled in the departments can continue pursuing their degrees.
By the numbers: More than 800 students are pursuing degrees in the affected departments, the Texas Tribune reported.
What they're saying: This plan "is being haphazardly and sloppily carried out," Lauren Gutterman, a professor of American Studies and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, tells Axios.
- Gutterman is chair of the American Studies department but says she is not speaking for the department.
- "It's hard to know how in good faith we can bring new graduate students into a program when we don't know how much longer it will exist," Gutterman says, adding that untenured faculty now also face uncertainty.
The big picture: The moves come amid a sea change at UT. In recent years Texas' public universities — including UT — have dismantled their diversity, equality and inclusion programs in response to orders from Gov. Greg Abbott and new state laws.
- The past half-dozen years have seen the creation of conservative-minded centers and institutes on campus, including the lavishly funded School of Civic Leadership.
- This past fall, the top official overseeing UT welcomed the Trump administration's demands on education administration in exchange for federal funding preferences.
Between the lines: The shuttered departments "are being targeted because they're seen as too 'woke,'" Gutterman says.
- "Our university leaders are facing pressure from regents and state lawmakers who are really wanting to limit critical thinking and research into race, gender, sexuality and forms of structural inequality," Gutterman adds.
- In the announcement, Davis does not mention political ideology as a reason for the changes.
Julie Minich, a UT Mexican American and Latino Studies and English professor and an executive committee member of the university's American Association of University Professors chapter, said in a statement that the university "is reversing roughly 50 years of intellectual progress and innovation."
- "If the goal is to make sure UT is no longer a global leader in higher education, this is a great move," Minich said.
What's next: Professors have "no recourse," Gutterman says, because of steps taken by the Legislature to dismantle faculty governance, including the abolishment of the faculty senate last year.
- The restructuring could be completed next year, Gutterman adds.