AAUP-TXST Calls on Texas State University System Regents to Defend Academic Freedom and Due Process

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 10, 2025
Contact: Texas State University Chapter, AAUP
Email: [email protected]

SAN MARCOS, Texas - The Texas State University chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-TXST) has issued a formal appeal urging the Texas State University System Board Regents to abide by its own rules and reverse the summary dismissal of tenured history professor Dr. Thomas Alter.

AAUP-TXST charges that Alter's dismissal is both unconstitutional and unlawful, a stark reminder of how due process is eroded when administrators bypass procedures. Instead of following the system's established rules - written notice, opportunity to respond, and a faculty-led hearing - the university blatantly ignored policy and process to silence dissent.

"Dr. Alter's dismissal exposes a flagrant disregard for the system's own policies," said Aimee Villarreal, chapter president. "The regents owe the public accountability for following the rules they are appointed to enforce."

The chapter - representing more than 160 AAUP members - also urges the regents to halt a rushed, politically motivated curriculum review that undercuts faculty authority and academic freedom.

In October, Texas State University administrators ordered faculty to review over 280 courses for "value neutrality" in just 60 working days, replacing the university's normal, months-long review process with an unprecedented top-down mandate.

"Academic freedom is grounded in faculty responsibility over curriculum," Villarreal said. Students have a right to an uncensored education. When administrators dictate what can or cannot be taught the spark of learning dims and with it, the spirit of the university itself."

Faculty experts already conduct regular course reviews several times a year with open comment periods and for accreditation purposes. The new system-imposed review is redundant and corrosive to the integrity of teaching and learning.

AAUP-TXST urges the regents to stand against partisan interference in university affairs and to uphold system policies and the dignity of the faculty. Intervention is now essentialto restore the tradition of shared governance at Texas State University and, in doing so, the integrity of our institution.

For a full policy analysis see: https://aaup-txst.org/.

###