MIAMI — Nearly 1,000 faculty, staff and students at the University of Miami have signed an open letter opposing a state bill moving through the Florida Legislature that they say is an “unprecedented attempt to exert political control over free thought and professional expertise in higher education.”
As a private university, UM isn’t funded or governed by the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the 12 public universities in the state. As such, it wouldn’t be affected by House Bill 999, and its companion Senate Bill 266, which could make it harder for professors to hold onto tenure and would give university presidents the authority to hire and fire faculty, instead of deans, department chairs and faculty committees currently making those decisions.
Because of these proposals and others in the bills, some of UM’s faculty, staff and students are “standing in solidarity” with their counterparts at Florida International University and the state’s other public universities.
“We affirm our commitment to the principles and practices of academic freedom and shared governance in all Florida institutions of higher education, whether public or private,” reads the missive, which a small group of UM faculty members started in early April and now want to share with as many people as possible, particularly elected officials.
UM faculty are also planning a teach-in about the legislation outside the bookstore at Rock Plaza on its Coral Gables campus from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday. “Curious? Angry? Confused? Then join us!” the flier advertising the event reads.
How are UM, FIU related?
Scot Evans, a UM Faculty Senate member and the president of the UM chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said many at UM are taking action against the bills because they collaborate with colleagues at public universities.
Evans teaches at UM’s School of Education and Human Development, and he works with professors at Florida International University and the University of Central Florida through grants.
Evans worries the negative attention Florida is getting nationwide from academics will hinder UM’s ability to recruit students and talent. Also, he said UM isn’t completely safe.
“We are buffered because of our private status but we only have to look at the Disney example to see how even private entities can end up getting bullied because of their stance on certain things,” Evans said, referring to the battle between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney after Disney opposed last year’s Parental Rights in Education law, which critics have dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. The state law bans teachers and staff from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity through third grade in public schools.
“For example, we have a lot of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts going on at our campus, and we teach about race here,” Evans added. “So, I think even though the legislation doesn’t affect us, we’re still at risk of some level of attack from it.”
What would HB999 and SB266 do to higher ed?
The bills — HB 999 and SB 266 — have gone through major changes as they move through the legislative process, and more tweaks are expected before House and Senate lawmakers reach consensus on all provisions.
A Senate panel, for example, scrubbed all references to “diversity, equity and inclusion” last week amid concerns of potentially endangering the accreditation of certain higher-education courses and programs. But the proposed new language in the Senate bill would restrict public universities from teaching “theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political and economic inequities.”
Other provisions include adding more hurdles for faculty members who want to challenge a termination or a decision to strip them of tenure. Under the Senate bill, faculty members would not be allowed to appeal the decision beyond the level of the university president, and there would be no arbitration option.
Those who signed the UM letter join hundreds of FIU faculty, staff and students who have been holding marches and walkouts on campus since February to oppose the proposed legislation.
Professors ‘alarmed’
Matthew Marr, a professor of sociology at FIU, participated in a rally on the Modesto Maidique Campus last week. He said about 400 faculty, students and staff attended.
During the protest, people pasted sticky notes with messages like ‘Let us learn’ and ‘Protect your students’ on the doors of Primera Casa, the building where the president and other top administrators work at FIU.
“There was a widespread showing of disapproval,” said Marr, adding they want to show more of that next Thursday, during an FIU Board of Trustees meeting.
About the UM letter, Marr said: “It’s great to have that support.”
Mary Anne Franks, a law professor at UM, said she stamped her name on the open letter because she sees the bills as an attack not only on education, but on democracy.
“I’m incredibly angry, and I’m concerned for students everywhere, and I’m particularly saddened for my fellow faculty members at public universities,” she said. “Florida is becoming known as a state where intellectual freedom goes to die.”
As she sees the HB 999 and its companion bill advance in the Legislature, Franks said she hopes some “brave” members of the Republican Party separate themselves from this “kind of blatant censorship.”
“Regardless of whether it ultimately passes or it gets overturned or what happens to it in the future,” Franks said, “the fact that this is happening at all is really alarming.”
