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Texas Conference of the AAUP

@texasaaup.bsky.social

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We are an association of all AAUP members in Texas #HigherEd. Join us as we advocate for faculty and instructors through the state. Become involved in a local chapter or start one! https://connect.aft.org/app/memberforms/8041A/JoinTheFight

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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 15d

🔔Our open letter to academic leaders in TX: “As pressures mount on TX public institutions of higher education, we write on behalf of faculty across the state to remind you of your obligations to protect academic freedom and due process.”

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

Susan (George) Schorn @susanschorn.bsky.social · 45m

UT-Austin alumni: Here's a letter you can sign expressing opposition to this destruction of our alma mater. www.change.org/p/alumni-urg...

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

Susan (George) Schorn @susanschorn.bsky.social · 45m

Also, be vocal about not donating to the school until the state of Texas protects academic freedom as it is constitutionally obligated to do: www.reddit.com/r/UTAustin/c...

From the UTAustin community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the UTAustin community

www.reddit.com

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 1h

“You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better," Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock said in a recent message to the campus community. "At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves.” buff.ly/dv5e3RR

Dartmouth preparing feedback to Trump administration’s college compact proposal

The White House’s 10-point memo issued to Dartmouth and eight other highly regarded schools asks them to commit to a number of conditions that align with the administration’s policy positions and…

www.nhpr.org

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 1h

Universities must unite to reject President Trump’s partisan “Compact for Academic Excellence” which threatens academic freedom and diversity. Only bold, collective resistance can defend higher ed from ideological control and preserve critical thought on campus. wagingnonviolence.org/cnv/2025/10/...

Why universities must flatly reject Trump’s ultimatum

Universities need to form a large and powerful bloc to resist attempts to illegitimately remake higher education.

wagingnonviolence.org

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 2h

Another Faculty Senate offers wise advice.

Pres. Davis, you’ve abolished our Faculty Council, depriving yourself of the advice of faculty who would say, Just say no to the Compact! This is a road to disaster for a great University. We need autonomy, free speech & academic freedom to stay great!

Tim Steller @timsteller.bsky.social · 20h

The University of Arizona's faculty senate has voted to ask the UA president to reject the Trump administration's proposed compact. It's among an accumulation of voices who say not to be tempted by the good things in the compact due to its more fundamental threats.
tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A Faculty Senate opposes Trump compact; provost says no decision yet

The University of Arizona Faculty Senate approved a resolution calling on the UA to reject the White House’s compact requiring ideological, political and financial commitments in return for federal fu...

tucson.com

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

Jessica Green @greenprofgreen.bsky.social · 37m

5 yrs ago, I argued that climate change demands an activist academy. So does growing authoritarianism. Our universities need to act collectively, and we academics, as their beating heart, must demand that administrations do this.
My piece: direct.mit.edu/daed/article....
Henry's is a must read. 👇

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 53m

THIS!! No one is coming to save us, we all have to stand up together!👇👇

Dan Greene @dmgreene.bsky.social · 1h

Sign. Join. Go to the meeting. The first instinct is to keep your head down, get the work done, hope someone louder or smarter or whatever helps. But that's the coordination problem of fascism: if you, yes you, ordinary person who's never done this before, do nothing then we all lose.

Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 1h

sign and share and join AAUP actionnetwork.org/petitions/tr...

Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 1h

"The best defense against this weapon is solidarity among groups who disagree ferociously on many questions, but who agree on the need to keep America democratic and rebuild institutions and social connections to make democracy more robust. "

Deva Woodly @devawo.bsky.social · 1h

@himself.bsky.social talking sense, as usual. Notably: “The administration would have played its cards differently if it had a stronger hand.”

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸 @rweingarten.bsky.social · 16h

Thank you @TimothySnyder.bsky.social for joining @AFT.org & @AAUP.org in calling on university leaders, faculty, staff and students to reject Trump's proposed compact and to defend the principle that no president has the right to buy obedience or sell off freedom. snyder.substack.com/p/save-ameri...

Save American Higher Education (video)

A petition that you can sign, which I read aloud

snyder.substack.com

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Bruno J. Navarro @brunojnavarro.bsky.social · 1h

'Trump will fail ... if people and institutions coordinate against him, which is why his administration is targeting businesses, nonprofits and the rest of civil society, proposing corrupting bargains to those who acquiesce and punishing holdouts to terrify the rest into submission.'

Jason "Red5" Lyall @jaylyall.bsky.social · 2h

Attention university presidents and boards of trustees:

"Those who oppose authoritarianism have to play a different game, creating solidarity among an unwieldy coalition, which knows that if everyone holds together, they will surely succeed."

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 2h

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“The carrots serve to lure institutions of higher learning into a dark alley where, rather than just waiting with a big stick, the government can put a gun to their heads at any time.”

US universities must reject Trump’s ‘compact’. It is full of traps | Jan-Werner Müller

The administration is trying to make nine universities an offer they seemingly cannot refuse

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 3h

Trump’s H-1B Visa Fee Could Strain Universities and Schools

“It’s not patriotic,” Dr. Botstein said. “It harms the economy and has nothing to do with excellence.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

Trump’s H-1B Visa Fee Could Strain Universities and Schools

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 1d

“Any university leader who signs on to this compact would betray everything good and solid about the university and would do deep and permanent harm to the United States and the world.”https://newrepublic.com/article/201376/trump-compact-academic-excellence-university-virginia via @newrepublic.com

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

Jackie Gardina @jackiegardina.bsky.social · 17h

@joshpasek.com, @umich.edu, provides boards of trustees a roadmap for responding to external pressue, like the so-called Educational Compact.

@aaup.org @utaustinaaup.bsky.social @aaup-penn.bsky.social

riverside.fm/shared/expor...

One thing boards can d... | Oct 7, 2025 001 - Riverside - HD Podcast & Video Software

riverside.fm

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

Daniel MacPhee 🇨🇦 @d-macphee.bsky.social · 3h

“Academic freedom exists for precisely this reason: to protect the right to challenge orthodoxies, unsettle consensus, and advance difficult conversations. It is not a privilege reserved for those whose speech offends no one.”
#Canada #UAlberta #Alberta #cdnpoli
edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

Opinion: U of A's response to Charlie Kirk comments erodes academic freedom

This case cannot be separated from the broader landscape of academic freedom currently under strain in Canada and beyond.

edmontonjournal.com

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Kim Weeden @weedenkim.bsky.social · 19h

Academic freedom means that a course that teaches students to critique settler colonialism can be taught alongside one that teaches students to maximize shareholder value.

Both are "biased" in their framing.

Only one is currently at risk of being cancelled by state and/or institutional actors.

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Sarah Szalavitz💡 @dearsarah.bsky.social · 5d

Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion says the dean of UC Berkeley’s law school
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o... USC better not sign on to this nonsense.

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

www.nytimes.com

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Jackie Gardina @jackiegardina.bsky.social · 17h

You can watch the full webinar on the intersection of academic freedom and board independence. 2/

youtu.be/owQIhVhX8mw?...

The Integral Relationship Between Board Independence and Academic Freedom | Webinar on Demand

YouTube video by AGB

youtu.be

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collegeopp.bsky.social @collegeopp.bsky.social · 16h

🚨 California’s colleges are not for sale.

As California Governor Newsom said, "California will not bankroll schools that sell out their students, professors, researchers, and surrender academic freedom."

Read a statement from President Jessie Ryan: buff.ly/JQdFXLG

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

Donna @donnamckee.bsky.social · 15h

🚨📢 Academic freedom under attack at the University of Pennsylvania and eight other Universities: share.inquirer.com/CvSiRL?utm_s...

Wharton advisory board chair Marc Rowan had a hand in crafting ideas used in Trump’s university compact, report says

Marc Rowan and his allies were instrumental in developing ideas for the compact that President Donald Trump’s administration asked nine colleges including Penn to sign, according to the New York Times

share.inquirer.com

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

aaupbrownchapter.bsky.social @aaupbrownchapter.bsky.social · 13h

"Our very mode of conduct as academics is counter-authoritarian. Authoritarians want fixity, and they project it onto their opponents, but we remain open to change, self-critique, and revision. This is why we are seen as a problem."
-- Amanda Anderson

Opinion | When Viewpoint Diversity Means Conformity

Trump’s compact isn’t just coercive. It’s incoherent.

www.chronicle.com

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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 12h

Solidarity and action are the antidotes to despair! Organize and fight for the future of #HigherEd! We are stronger together! 👊🏾👊🏿👊🏼

Sarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · 14h

Discussing this phenomenon w/ a group of profs. Someone morbidly joked, “& northern profs are fleeing the country.” The next person said…”even if we were all willing & able to abandon this place there are not enough jobs for us globally and the U.S. employs a huge # of international scholars too.”

‘Fear and hopelessness’: study finds one in four professors consider leaving US south

Survey by American Association of Professors shows nearly quarter of respondents are switching due to states’s politics

www.theguardian.com

Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 12h

“While the material consequences of refusal may be significant, the alternative is far worse. Sacrificing our values and principles would irreparably damage the foundations upon which our university has been built. We must, together, find another way.” ✊

aaupbrownchapter.bsky.social @aaupbrownchapter.bsky.social · 12h

Brown Chapter of the AAUP's Statement Urging the University to Reject the Federal Government's “Compact”
www.brownchapteraaup.org/statements

Statements — Brown AAUP

www.brownchapteraaup.org

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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 18h

⭐️⭐️This Thursday at 5pm EST! ⬇️

Share My Lesson @sharemylesson.bsky.social · 1d

Teachers & public employees—know your rights online.
🗣️💻 Join @aft.org’s @rweingarten.bsky.social + experts from @penamerica.bsky.social & @ncacensorship.bsky.social for a webinar on free speech, digital safety & protecting yourself online.
REGISTER here 👉 sharemylesson.com/webinars/fre...

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Reposted by Texas Conference of the AAUP

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 20h

In a press release, Texas Attorney General calls "transgenderism" a "corrupted ideology" that is "a cancer on our culture."

This is openly genocidal rhetoric about trans people from a sitting AG.

A press release dated October 7, 2025, with the headline: “Attorney General Ken Paxton Launches Undercover Operations to Infiltrate and Uproot Leftist Terror Cells in Texas After Increased Political Violence.” The statement claims rising left-wing violence, referencing the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and outlines Paxton’s directive for undercover investigations. A highlighted quote from Paxton reads: “Leftist political terrorism is a clear and present danger. Corrupted ideologies like transgenderism and Antifa are a cancer on our culture and have unleashed their deranged and drugged-up foot soldiers on the American people.” The text further accuses the radical Left of fostering political violence, referencing incidents involving Antifa-like groups and a supposed assassin tied to transgender movements. It also notes that President Trump designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, with Paxton vowing sweeping investigations into radical leftist groups.

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