As legislative sessions in many states head towards their conclusions, new attempts to exert control over higher education have continued to appear. Among the latest efforts are HB 715 in North Carolina, which would remove tenure for future faculty in the University of North Carolina (UNC) system and at public community colleges, and SB 266 in Florida, which would give the state more control over the content of core classes and limit funding for DEI efforts. Faculty in both states are distressed, and some are protesting.
“I’m gravely concerned,” said Dr. Erik Gellman, a tenured associate professor of history at UNC, of HB 715, officially called the Higher Education Modernization & Affordability Act. The bill eliminates tenure for professors hired after July 1, 2024, and requires schools to report all non-instructional research done by faculty to the state.
Dr. Erik Gellman, associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina
Gellman’s primary fear is that, without tenure, faculty would be limited in their work because of the fear of retribution.
“It would have a chilling effect across the university on academic freedom,” he said. “Professors wouldn’t be able to speak out on current issues, wouldn’t be able to publish their research findings, if they didn’t conform to a certain kind of politics.”
Dr. Maxine Eichner, a tenured professor at the UNC School of Law who was involved in the creation of the letter, shared Gellman’s concern, and expressed fear that HB 715 would damage the school’s reputation.
“We are a leading academic institution; leading academic institutions hire people on the tenure track,” she said. “If this bill were passed, well-qualified academics would be unlikely to come here as opposed to other places where they would be guaranteed job security and freedom from political interference. Our rankings would fall precipitously.”
