AUSTIN, Texas — More than 600 faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin have signed a letter expressing displeasure with university president Jay Hartzell.
The letter began circulating on April 25 and was sent to Hartzell's office on April 29.
The letter cites two issues with Hartzell, the first being the university's removal of over 40 faculty and staff members after the state's passage of Senate Bill 17, which bans Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) offices at public universities in Texas. The letter claims the removals were made despite Hartzell earlier indicating that the university's Division of Campus and Community Engagement (DCCE) complied with SB 17.
The letter also condemns Hartzell and the university's response to the recent pro-Palestine protests on campus, specifically citing Hartzell requesting assistance from numerous police forces during the protests on April 24.
"President Hartzell needlessly put students, staff and faculty in danger. Dozens of students were arrested for assembling peacefully on their own campus," the letter states.
The online letter remained open until May 2, closing with 657 total signatures, of which an additional 80 were faculty members.
Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra, a faculty member in UT's History Department, remembers feeling shock when he heard the protests outside his office.
"I began to notice the force and the violence that was being applied and said, 'This is disproportionate. It makes no sense,'" Cañizares-Esguerra said.
That sentiment is shared by Dr. Stacey Sowards, a communication professor at UT.
"I was appalled by the APD, Austin Police Department, and state troopers presence on our campus and the seemingly violent interactions that they've had with students and protesters on the campus," Sowards said. "I think that he's [Hartzell's] in a hot seat right now, and there's a lot of calls for his resignation. I would support that."
KVUE reached out to a UT spokesperson to secure an interview with Hartzell. The request was declined, but in an op-ed originally published in the Houston Chronicle, Hartzell wrote that he believed the protest, "was no longer a traditional assembly or protest. By the plain language of our rules, it was criminal trespassing."
"This is public property, there is no justification to what happened at all – whether they are outsiders, insiders, students, no students," Cañizares-Esguerra said.
The full text of the letter sent to Hartzell reads:
"We, faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin, no longer have confidence in President Jay Hartzell.
On April 2, President Hartzell capitulated to political pressure in shutting down the Division of Campus and Community Engagement (DCCE) even though, as he acknowledged, the division was in compliance with SB 17. At least forty staff—predominantly women and people of color—were fired after working hard to comply with SB 17 at the President’s request. Students lost access to welcoming spaces, the support of staff and a sense of belonging. This was done without consulting with the faculty and under a shroud of secrecy.
On April 24, the President called hundreds of police officers representing city, state, and System forces as well as mounted state troopers to forcibly disperse students gathering for a peaceful teach-in. The students, who had planned to learn together and share information, were charged with trespassing on their own campus. President Hartzell needlessly put students, staff and faculty in danger. Dozens of students were arrested for assembling peacefully on their own campus.
The President has shown himself to be unresponsive to urgent faculty, staff, and student concerns. He has violated our trust. The University is no longer a safe and welcoming place for the diverse community of students and scholars who until now have called this campus home.
We demand that criminal charges against students and others be dropped. We demand that the students not face disciplinary action at the University for their activities on April 24. We demand that the University, beginning now, respect the first Amendment free speech rights of students and faculty on our campus. This is a time for the University to re-establish its reputation as an institution that respects free speech, academic freedom, shared governance, due process, and its own students and faculty."
The letter was then signed by the university's seven board members of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).
Hartzell has not yet responded to the letter or to claims made by the AAUP.
Alums for Campus Fairness, an organization which counters antisemitism sent a letter to the UT administration thanking them for their commitment to maintaining a "safe" environment on all the campuses, calling their leadership "stable guidance."
The letter will be printed in full page ads in the Austin American-Statesman and the Dallas Morning News on Sunday morning.