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UT cuts gender and sexuality studies from curriculum
The University of Texas is removing women’s, gender, and sexuality studies courses from its core curriculum following recent major cuts in similar departments, sparking faculty protests over academic freedom while affected professors await formal responses.
AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Texas cut women’s, gender and sexuality studies courses from its core curriculum. It comes after the university announced its plans to cut Latino, Black, women’s and gender studies as majors.
UT Austin cuts gender studies courses
What we know:
In a statement, the University of Texas tells us that many of the courses are too narrowly focused and do not fit the definition of a core curriculum, which the university is in the process of redoing.
Last year, UT created a core curriculum task force to review and recommend changes to the educational plan. Something that hadn't been done since 2004.
FOX 4 asked specifically about courses related to women’s, gender and sexuality studies getting cut. We were told that faculty had an opportunity to submit an application to keep their courses in the "core curriculum."
Half were accepted, and the other half were not.
Faculty protests grow over academic freedom
Local perspective:
Earlier this year, faculty shared with news outlets that the university is consolidating departments and cutting majors related to Latino, Black, women and gender studies.
Starting this week, some faculty members and staff have been participating in protests over restrictions on academic freedom, department consolidations and cuts to the core curriculum.
In a statement, UT President Jim Davis wrote in part:
"The proposed new Core is a clear, focused, and rigorous program of study that delivers a broad and thorough general education, with approved classes in three categories: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM."
What's next:
FOX 4 reached out to faculty members whose courses will be affected, but we’re still waiting to hear back.
It's worth pointing out that while there is no lawsuit in this matter, two separate lawsuits have been filed challenging Texas A&M and Texas Tech University policies restricting instruction in the classroom over topics such as race, gender and sexuality.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 4's Amelia Jones.