Texas A&M University canceled a graduate ethics course three days after the semester began, saying Professor Leonard Bright did not provide enough information to let administrators determine if the course meets new standards for discussing race and gender.
Bright disputes that characterization.
The decision is distinct from earlier course changes at Texas A&M as the class had already met once before administrators canceled it.
In a schoolwide email explaining the decision Wednesday, Bush School Dean John Sherman said system policy required the cancellation because Bright declined repeated requests to provide information on his planned instruction. Without that, Sherman said, administrators could not comply with system policy that bars courses from advocating race or gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Courses that venture into those topics require an exemption from top university officials. A university official said the deadline for department submissions is Friday, and the university expects to know before the Jan. 28 add-drop deadline how many courses will be canceled or changed under the policy.
In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Bright said he made clear that issues of race, gender and sexuality would arise throughout the course, rather than on specific days that he could share in advance.
“I told them it was going to come up every day,” Bright said. “During discussions, book reviews, case studies, throughout the course. There is no one day. That’s how this class works.”
According to the syllabus, Bright’s Ethics and Public Policy (PSAA 642) would examine how race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and other social identities shape public policy and the ethical responsibilities of public servants. Bright said he might share his perspectives on related issues and matters of public concern, but that students were not expected to agree with him.
One week of the course would have been devoted to equity and social justice in public administration, with readings about diversity, equity and inclusion; critical race theory; and John Rawls’ “A Theory of Justice.”
Bright said this was the only ethics class offered in the Bush School this semester. Ten students were initially enrolled. After he warned the class about the administrative review and the potential for cancellation, two students enrolled in another class.
The university said it is working to help remaining students find alternative courses.
In his email to faculty, Sherman said Bright’s class was one of two Bush School courses requiring exemptions from the vice provost of academic affairs. In the other course, he wrote, administrators were able to request an exemption because the syllabus provided sufficient detail, allowing those courses to proceed as designed.
Sherman said he took “no pleasure” in canceling Bright’s course but said the decision was required under system policy.
“I want us to continue to teach hard topics and to engage with controversial issues,” Sherman wrote. “But I also expect us to follow the process laid out for the approval of syllabi and to ensure alignment between our syllabi and our course descriptions. Put simply, transparency does not equal censorship.”
Last week, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences told faculty that roughly 200 of the college’s courses could be affected by the policy, and a philosophy professor said he was told to remove Plato readings related to race and gender or be reassigned to teach another class. The university said at the time that the decision did not amount to a ban on teaching Plato, noting other courses include the philosopher’s teachings that do not touch on race or gender.
Emails obtained by the Tribune show Bright was not asked to remove or change his course content before it was canceled.
Bright, who has taught this class since 2018, is also president of the Texas A&M Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, a faculty group that opposes the system’s new race and gender ideology policy.
The Board of Regents passed the policy last year after a classroom discussion involving gender identity was secretly recorded and circulated online, drawing criticism from conservative activists and elected officials. The episode reverberated across Texas higher education, prompting reviews of course content at other public university systems, including Texas Tech University System, which has imposed similar restrictions.
No state or federal law prohibits discussion of race, gender or sexuality in college classrooms. State law does require public universities to post course syllabi online, but in the wake of the backlash at Texas A&M, professors have been required to submit them for administrative review before certain courses can proceed.
Michael Johnson, associate provost for academic enhancement and interim vice provost for academic affairs, said the university established written guidance, timelines and a framework for the syllabus and course review under the policy. Instead of “prescriptive, one-size-fits-all directives” for individual courses, he said, the policy is interpreted and applied by faculty, department heads and deans within their academic fields.
“When additional clarification has been needed, we have continued to refine our guidance and respond to questions,” Johnson said.
The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.
Disclosure: Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University System have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.