This month Open Campus launched the first event in a new webinar series devoted to current news and policies that impact Texas’ higher education landscape.
Open Campus currently partners with four newsrooms in the state (the Texas Tribune, Fort Worth Report, San Antonio Report and El Paso Matters). Through a series of conversations with our reporters, politicos and members of various Texas institutions, we will explore issues related to workforce, academic freedom, and other topics.
The first of these events, known as the Texas Higher Ed Forum, took place on Nov. 4 where speakers had a nuanced conversation about Senate Bill 37, which gives the Texas State University System the ability to abolish faculty senates and review curriculum. While professors say they’re being stripped of their voices, proponents suggest this is legislation Texans want that will lead to more valuable degrees.
Speakers included :
- Jessica Priest a reporter for The Texas Tribune in partnership with Open Campus
- Andrew Martin, president of the Texas Tech Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
- Sherry Sylvester, a distinguished senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation
- Kayleigh Skinner, managing editor for race and equity at Open Campus (moderator)
Watch the conversation in full here: