Survey Reveals Southern Faculty Concerned Over Growing Political Interference in Higher Education
Southern professors are increasingly concerned about political influence in higher education, according to a new study issued by the American Association of University Professors’ Southern chapters.
The poll, which included responses from approximately 3,000 faculty members, discovered that roughly 70% of respondents were dissatisfied with the political climate surrounding higher education and ranked it “poor or very poor.” Furthermore, approximately 55% of poll respondents expressed disappointment in their school’s management for “not adequately defending academic freedom and tenure.”
A news release stated that 109 responses were from Kentucky. The poll includes chapters from Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas.
The survey results come on the heels of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives under criticism from Republicans in Kentucky and across the country. In recent weeks, the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University revealed plans to shutter their diversity offices due to pressure from Republican legislators.
Kentucky lawmakers examined two anti-DEI legislation during the 2024 session, but neither was approved. However, one policy change was enacted as part of a postsecondary finance law. It modified the mechanism for performance-based university funding by barring the use of “any race-based metrics or targets.”
Another GOP-backed bill in Kentucky that would have allowed institutions to fire academics for failing to fulfill specific “productivity requirements” failed not pass the House Education Committee last session. Some detractors saw it as a way to end tenure in Kentucky.
According to the AAUP chapters’ aggregate poll results, 60% of respondents would not suggest their state “as a desirable place to work for colleagues.” Approximately 28% of respondents had applied for academic positions in another state since 2022, with another 28% expecting to do so in the future year. The top five destinations for individuals who applied to another state were California, New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Illinois.
More than 27% of respondents said they do not intend to stay in academia indefinitely.
Respondents could give numerous reasons why they were looking for work elsewhere. Salary was the most important concern, with 56.5%, followed by the state’s political climate (53.3%), and academic freedom (49.6%). Approximately 30% of responders noted DEI and shared governance difficulties.
Over the summer, the UK Board of Trustees gave final approval to a new shared governance model that removed faculty influence over academic decisions by abolishing the University Senate and replacing it with a weaker faculty senate.
The poll was sent via email and social media throughout state AAUP conferences from August 12 to August 30. About 17% of respondents identified as non-white, with 51% being female. More than 60% indicated that they had a tenured post.