UT Austin professor dismissed from administrative duties for 'ideological differences'

[dalton99a]

https://www.kut.org/education/2025-10-20/ut-austin-professor-art-markman-dismissed-greg-abbott

UT Austin professor dismissed from administrative duties for 'ideological differences'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed Sunday that UT Austin professor Art Markman has been dismissed from his administrative role as senior vice provost for academic affairs because of “ideological differences.”

Markman shared the news of his dismissal in a social media post Wednesday. He has worked for UT Austin for 27 years as a psychology professor and had been part of UT Austin's provost's office since 2021. He is also the co-host of the Two Guys on Your Head podcast which airs on KUT News.

Gov. Abbott said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "Texas is targeting professors who are more focused on pushing leftist ideologies rather than preparing students to lead our nation."

The move comes after Texas State professor Tom Alter was fired for talking at an online socialist conference. Texas A&M professor Melissa McCoul's employment was also terminated earlier this year after a video of her discussing gender identities with a student went viral.

...

[Irish_Dem]

1. Like China's Great Purge.

All academics were arrested and sent to work camps for life.

[yardwork]

7. Some of them were eaten.

[ananda]

2. Boy, UT used to be a bastion of leftwing professors.

When I first moved here, I volunteered at their bookstore
on 51st St. -- Monkey Wrench books.

I also wrote some book reviews for their online newsletter.

Those were the days.

[Bo Zarts]

3. Fear not: George Washington Hayduke lives!

[dalton99a]

6. Abbott will have his own rightwing institute on campus

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/08/university-texas-civic-leadership-school-100-million-investment/

UT System announces $100 million investment into civic leadership school
The money will help pay for a permanent home for the school on UT-Austin's campus. Conservative donors and lawmakers, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, helped create the school in 2023.
By Ayden Runnels | May 8, 2025, 7:19 p.m. Central

The University of Texas System announced on Thursday a $100 million investment for a permanent building for its School of Civic Leadership, a college created to house programs to help teach “principles of freedom.”

The nine-figure investment will go toward the renovation of the Biological Laboratories building on the University of Texas at Austin campus into a space for the new school. The school welcomes its inaugural class in the fall. Construction on the school is expected to be completed by 2028, according to a UT news release.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and several UT officials gathered at UT Austin to celebrate the announced funding for the school. In a news release, Abbott said the $100 million investment will “restore classical civics and leadership education” at UT.

“We need to get back on the pathway of ensuring that we’re educating our students with the leading concepts that have led to the great country we are today,” Abbott said.

The school, which was established in 2023, and the think tank Civitas Institute, which it houses, were developed by UT officials alongside conservative lawmakers and donors including Patrick. In 2021, Patrick and conservative donors assisted in the creation of Civitas’ predecessor, the Liberty Institute, which sparked faculty concerns on the college’s purpose.

Programs at the school like its Society of Fellows were made to “foster a thoughtful admiration for Western Civilization, constitutional government, and economic liberty,” according to its website.

...

[yardwork]

8. Ugh. UNC-Chapel Hill has one of those.

It's quickly devolved into right wing infighting. Who would have guessed that right wing extremists couldn't get along with one another. /sarcasm.

[walkingman]

10. Monkey Wrench is alive and well. "Wheels" is just another in the secession of shit Governors

since George W Bush in '94. I think the State's ban of DEI has changed the college experience for not just UT but all the public universities in Texas. I miss people like Prof. Robert Jensen at UT.

BTW - "The Rag" is back....

https://thedailytexan.com/2025/10/15/1960s-counterculture-magazine-revived-after-nearly-50-years/

[ananda]

11. I loved that little store.

Robert Jensen and the other professor also used
to organize symposiums at the LBJ Center.

I also went to the one on economics led by
Jamie Galbraith (John Kenneth's son).

[Ocelot II]

4. We don't need no stinkin' First Amendment...

[Walleye]

5. So the cowards turned tail and run again. Just fire somebody that's all they care about.

Are they afraid to hear something different from what they believe apparently

[Ping Tung]

9. It's getting darker every day in America.