University of Alabama faculty defend free speech, right to teach critical race theory – AL.com

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Faculty at Alabamas flagship university are urging leaders to take a public stand against state legislation aimed at limiting academic speech.

In a resolution published Thursday, the University of Alabama Faculty Senate urged UA President Stuart Bell and the Board of Trustees to join in opposition of proposed and future legislation that undermines academic freedom and, therefore, the historic purpose of higher education.

Read more Ed Lab: After CRT complaint, Huntsville teacher training investigated.

The Faculty Senate is a legislative body at the University of Alabama that consists of faculty representatives across colleges. The resolution comes after an impassioned meeting earlier this fall, when members debated how to handle legislative efforts that could impact discussions of race, equity and critical race theory.

Critical race theory is not taught at the K-12 level in Alabama, but several professors in an October meeting said they must debate and research the concept in university courses. A University of Alabama School of Law professor is an expert in the field.

Read more Ed Lab: What is critical race theory? Is it in schools? We asked an expert.

This is an existential threat to everyone in the room, said John Petrovic, an education professor, of bills prefiled in the Alabama legislature. To wait until legislation passes to make a statement, he said earlier this fall, would be cowardice bullshit.

This fundamentally attacks what we are supposed to be about; not only are we supposed to be providing leadership on issues of social justice, and at least some of us are in the work of anti-racism, but this is now attacking all of us in terms of academic freedom, he said in the October meeting.

The resolution, which was voted on Wednesday in the Senates second in-person meeting since the pandemic began, follows a similar motion from the Board of Trustees, which recognized its commitment to free speech and expression and stated that it is not the proper role of an institution to shield or attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable or even deeply offensive.

A bill prefiled for the 2022 legislative session would prohibit public K-12 schools and public institutions of higher education and their employees from using or introducing courses of instruction or units of study directing or compelling students to adhere to or affirm certain concepts regarding race or sex, such as critical race theory. It threatens firing of teachers and professors who teach those concepts.

The Faculty Senate asked university administration to continue to affirm free speech even in the event that a bill is passed.

It also cited a prior resolution from 2004, which stated that the purpose of academic freedom is to allow college and university professors to develop knowledge and to challenge existing truths by speaking and writing about their findings.

Our students opportunity to maximize their intellectual potential depends in large part on the ability of faculty to employ academic freedom and freedom of expression in their pedagogy, the group wrote. ... Any pending legislation in the Alabama legislature that infringes on academic freedom and expression is anathema to this ideal and contradicts existing law and precedents.

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University of Alabama faculty defend free speech, right to teach critical race theory - AL.com