University faculty, armed with signs saying things like “RIP Academic Freedom,” gather multiple days a week at the Tower for a 15-minute silent walk protesting the recent department consolidations and cuts to the core curriculum, with the tagline “Let Longhorns Learn.”
The faculty members are part of the UT chapter of the American Association of University Professors. The silent walks began on Sept. 21 at noon, and will continue Monday through Thursday every week.
The organization — which advocates for academic freedom, faculty roles in university governance and labor rights — is protesting department consolidations in the College of Liberal Arts as well as the more recent changes to the core curriculum, first presented by UT President Jim Davis in August.
Davis has previously said the new core curriculum would reduce the number of core curriculum designations for courses with “narrow” topics. Davis said a changed core would stick to the spirit of general education.
Karma Chávez, chapter president and professor of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, is concerned that the new core will deviate from the general state curriculum and is worried it could make it harder to transfer in with credits from other Texas institutions.
“Students deserve an education of the first class from a university of the first class, and we’re pretty worried that that’s not the direction we’re heading in,” Chávez said.
Jason Brownlee, a government professor and UT AAUP member, said he finds the changes to be unnecessarily disruptive. Brownlee said he was unsatisfied with the University’s efforts to communicate with faculty.
“We are a public university, the University should be in service of the local community, the nation and the world,” said Brownlee. “Part of that is University leaders speaking publicly, taking questions and having just regular, healthy dialogue.”
Davis spoke about the changes in front of a UT Systems Board of Regents meeting in August. Along with a committee of 22 faculty members, he also released a report outlining reasons to implement a new core curriculum.
Davis and the University have not released a public statement on the major consolidations, but the University has answered questions about the state of the affected degree programs.