Increasing political influence in higher education has led more than a quarter of professors in the South to plan to apply for positions in other states, according to a recent report by the American Association of University Professors.
The faculty advocacy organization surveyed nearly 4,000 professors across Texas, Georgia the Carolinas and nine other Southern states. More than 60% of respondents said they are tenured.
Among professors who said they are seeking employment elsewhere, most respondents (57%) said it was due to the “broad political climate.” Other notable answers included threats to academic freedom and DEI initiatives.
Earlier this month, a video of a student at Texas A&M University confronting a professor on a LGBTQ+ topic in a children’s literature course led to the firing of the professor, the removal of a dean and a department head, and the resignation of the president, according to The Texas Tribune.
In June, a civil rights inquiry into the University of Virginia’s DEI initiatives prompted the former president of the University of Virginia to step down.
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Recent state laws have impacted higher education. Georgia, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas and Virginia have eliminated DEI initiatives. Kentucky, Florida and Arkansas have enacted harsher post-tenure review timelines and regulations, while Texas has filed to remove tenure entirely.
“Attacks have instilled fear in our graduate students and led some to reconsider seeking an academic position in the U.S,” one professor wrote in an open-ended response to the AAUP survey.
More than half of respondents stated that they would not recommend their state as a desirable place to work. Job seekers seem to agree: More than a third of professors in the South noted that applications at their institutions have decreased.
California, New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Illinois were the most popular destinations for professors interested in working elsewhere.
