HOUSTON (AP) _ Some leading Texas A&M University supporters are urging A&M leaders to join University of Texas System counterparts in resisting higher education proposals advocated by Gov. Rick Perry and an influential campaign donor.
Perry, a former A&M student, has embraced proposals of Austin businessman and campaign supporter Jeff Sandefer that include linking faculty tenure to student evaluations and separating research work from teaching functions. Sandefer has argued that much of such academic research is pointless and that universities would be better served with fewer tenured faculty.
The Houston Chronicle reports the 22 honored by A&M’s Association of Former Students as “Distinguished Alumni” warn that “an extraordinary level of political intervention in our university” could damage its reputation, particularly “proposals to fundamentally change how research universities in Texas fulfill their educational responsibilities.”
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Information from: Houston Chronicle
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