All articles tagged with #academic freedom
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett apologized after initially demanding discipline for authors of a New York Fed study that found tariffs have burdened U.S. businesses and consumers more than the administration acknowledged, saying the Fed’s independence and academic freedom must be preserved even as he criticized the paper.
The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved a policy to curb 'controversial topics' in courses, requiring faculty to avoid coercion, not include unrelated controversial matters in syllabi, and to follow the syllabus while promoting balanced discussion and academic integrity. While officials say the goal is to foster trust and expose students to multiple viewpoints, critics warn it could curb responses to current events, hamper inquiry, and lead to censorship, with enforcement details still unclear across 14 UT institutions. The move follows broader Texas higher-ed restrictions on curricula related to race and gender, and comes as UT Austin consolidates several ethnic- and gender-studies departments.
A federal court vacated and permanently invalidated the Department of Education’s February 2025 Dear Colleague directive that aimed to restrict DEI efforts in schools and colleges, ruling it unlawful and unenforceable nationwide. The decision preserves educators’ ability to teach about race and history and to maintain inclusive classrooms, with the NEA and ACLU-backed suit signaling a win for academic freedom and education equity.
States like Texas and Oklahoma are formalizing surveillance of professors through online syllabus postings, student-complaint tip lines, and new offices to handle grievances, prompting fears of censorship and chilling effects on academic freedom as incidents in Texas and Oklahoma illustrate the trend.
Texas A&M announced it will discontinue its women’s and gender studies degree program due to low enrollment and cost, tying the decision to a campus-wide course review sparked by a viral incident over gender-content material; six undergraduate courses were canceled under a policy restricting race and gender discussions, with current students allowed to finish their programs over six semesters but no new admissions.
The University of Arkansas rescinded its offer to Emily Suski to become the law school’s dean after Republican complaints about her background and views on transgender athletes, drawing criticism that the move undermines academic freedom and signals political influence in hiring.
In a rare hearing in Boston, Judge William G. Young suggested narrowly restricting the Trump administration’s power to deport noncitizen members of two major academic groups as part of a First Amendment challenge by noncitizen student activists, signaling potential safeguards against what he described as sweeping abuses of power.
A Conversation US piece argues that academic freedom is increasingly endangered as students act as informants to police classroom content, citing Texas A&M incidents in 2025 and 2026 and a 2024 Harvard study showing rising faculty self-censorship. It distinguishes academic freedom from free speech, notes legal complexities around recording in classrooms, and calls for new norms—such as think-tank–style confidentiality and classroom compacts—to protect teaching and research from political interference and preserve open inquiry.
Faculty groups at UPenn condemn the EEOC's demand for personal data and lists of Jewish students and staff, arguing it would create a dangerous centralized registry and violate privacy and free-speech rights; Penn resisted full compliance, the EEOC sued, and academic associations sought to intervene amid concerns about antisemitism on campuses.
Texas A&M University is implementing new restrictions on discussing race, gender, and sexuality in courses, affecting around 200 classes, including cancellations and content revisions, amid political and social backlash.
Texas A&M University will not reinstate a lecturer fired after a viral video about gender identity, despite a faculty panel's finding that her dismissal was unjustified. The university system upheld her termination, citing 'good cause,' amid ongoing debates over academic freedom and curriculum restrictions related to gender and sexuality topics.
The University of Oklahoma removed a teaching assistant after a student accused her of religious discrimination for failing her gender-based essay that cited the Bible and opposed multiple genders, sparking debates over academic freedom and religious expression in education.
The University of Oklahoma fired a teaching assistant after she gave a student a failing grade for citing the Bible and expressing conservative Christian views on gender, sparking debates over academic freedom and religious expression on campus.
The University of Arizona has become the seventh US university to reject a Trump administration proposal that aimed to influence campus culture, hiring, and admissions practices through a 'Compact for Academic Excellence,' emphasizing principles like academic freedom and merit-based research, amidst broader resistance from several institutions.
The University of Arizona declined to sign a Trump administration proposal linking federal funding to adherence to certain policies, citing the importance of academic freedom, joining other elite institutions in opposition to the initiative.