Texas professors are censoring themselves for fear of retaliation, a survey finds

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) – University professors across the political spectrum in Texas are preemptively self-censoring for fear of damaging their reputations or losing their jobs, according to a new survey from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a First Amendment Advocacy.

According to FIRE, more than 6,200 professors from across the country participated in the survey on the climate of free expression and academic freedom on their campuses, one of the largest surveys of its kind. Respondents included more than 200 professors at the University of Texas at Austin , nearly 50 at the University of Texas at Dallas and more than 165 at Texas A&M University in College Station.

According to the survey results, 35% of all respondents said they had recently retracted their writing because of fear of controversy, and 27% felt unable to speak freely because they feared how students or administrators might react. Almost a quarter of teachers fear losing their job due to a misunderstanding.

Concern was greater among teachers at Texas universities. At UT-Austin, more than half of faculty surveyed said they sometimes or often don’t share their opinions because they worry about how others might react. Nearly half of UT-Dallas teachers surveyed said they had toned down their writing skills to avoid resistance.

“The faculty does not associate self-censorship with politeness or professionalism – that would be completely different,” the report said. “Rather, consistent proportions of teachers say they are likely to refrain from expressing their views in various professional and conversational contexts because of fear of social, professional, legal, or violent consequences.”

FIRE said this climate is unsustainable for higher education.

“The academy needs courageous faculty who are not afraid to research, write about, or teach on topics that some may shy away from because they are labeled controversial – to ask and examine unasked and unanswered questions,” it says it concludes in the report. “And the academy needs more faculty who are not afraid to support colleagues who are themselves afraid or who have been targeted and criticized for their speeches or academic efforts. Consistent support from institutional administrations wouldn’t hurt either.”

According to the report, a Texas A&M faculty member said they actively avoid certain aspects of the job because of the campus climate.

“I’m starting to censor myself (for the first time in my career) out of self-preservation,” the faculty member told FIRE. “I now say nothing at faculty meetings, if I attend them at all.”

A UT-Austin professor said they feel pressure to hide certain opinions.

“The atmosphere in certain academic units can be cult-like and fascist and I really feel like I have to pick my battles,” the professor said.

The report highlighted an incident at Texas A&M last year in which the school watered down a job offer for Kathleen McElroy, a black journalism professor, after the Board of Regents and alumni groups criticized her previous employers for her work in diversity , Justice and Inclusion and she had criticized research on race.

McElroy decided to decline the offer and stay at her current job at UT-Austin after an A&M administrator told her he couldn’t protect her if the regents wanted to fire her. The Texas A&M System paid her a $1 million severance package after admitting that mistakes were made in the hiring process.

The FIRE survey found that self-censorship is more prevalent among conservative teachers. About 55% of faculty members who described themselves as conservative said they self-censored, compared to 17% of faculty members who described themselves as liberal. The survey also found that faculty members are more likely to be skeptical of conservative colleagues, suggesting in the survey that a conservative faculty member would be a poor fit in their department.

Two-thirds of respondents said universities should not take a position on political and social issues. In Texas, that number was higher. Approximately 70% of faculty surveyed at Texas A&M, UT-Austin and UT-Dallas supported institutional neutrality.

Earlier this year, the University of Texas System Board of Regents adopted an institutional neutrality policy after UT-Austin became ground zero in Texas for clashes over the Israel-Hamas war. About 70% of survey participants said the conflict was the most difficult topic to discuss on the flagship campus, along with racial inequality and transgender rights. At Texas A&M, the three topics faculty found most difficult to discuss on campus were racial inequality, transgender rights and abortion.

Overall, half of the faculty who responded to the survey said that requiring job applicants to provide diversity statements is rarely or never justified. These are written statements in which job seekers explain how they would support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts if hired. Last legislative session, Texas lawmakers banned diversity statements at public colleges and universities as part of Senate Bill 17, the law that eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion offices on campus.

Many survey respondents said they do not believe their universities’ administrators will take action against administrators or politicians to protect free speech on campus.

At Texas A&M, 45% of respondents felt that academic freedom — the longstanding principle that protects faculty’s ability to conduct teaching and research activities without political interference — was reasonably safe on campus. More than a third of respondents said they were unsure whether A&M administrators would protect free speech on campus.

Last year, Texas A&M University System leaders ordered the school to place a professor on paid administrative leave after a well-connected student complained that the professor was allegedly attacking Lt. Governor Dan Patrick criticized during a lecture. Text messages showed that Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp had ordered the system’s flagship university to place the professor on paid administrative leave while school officials investigated the complaint. He also informed the Lieutenant Governor of the status of the investigation, which ultimately concluded that the complaint was unfounded. Faculty said the incident had a chilling effect on campus.

FIRE’s survey comes as Texas faculty prepare for another legislative session in which they expect Republican lawmakers will seek to limit their power on campus. Patrick has called on lawmakers to limit the influence on campus of faculty senates, which influence their universities’ curricula and hiring decisions.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus for higher education coverage.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/12/texas-university-survey-self-censor/.

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