internationally shameful
>On April 9, 2026, Texas Tech University introduced a new policy ending student research related to sexual orientation and gender identity and phasing out academic programs “centered on” those topics.
>Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton communicated the new policy to faculty and staff through a memorandum, which recipients were asked not to share with prospective students. The policy built on the university’s prior efforts to restrict teaching on race, gender, and sexual identity (see report). The memo stated that graduate theses and dissertations could no longer focus on topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity; however, it permitted currently enrolled students to complete their research on those topics. It also asked provosts at all Texas Tech institutions to identify academic programs “centered on” sexual orientation and gender identity by June 15 and to refrain from admitting new students or allowing students to declare majors in those programs. “Centered on” was vaguely defined as a program in which “sexual orientation or gender identity serves as the primary subject, main theoretical framework, central narrative, or driving pedagogical purpose.” The memo permitted students already enrolled in the identified programs to finish their degrees. More broadly, the memo prohibited instructors from teaching “that gender identity is a fluid spectrum, endors[ing] the existence of more than two genders, or decoupl[ing] gender from biological sex as a factual or scientific baseline.”
>Scholars at Risk is concerned about a state higher education official ordering restrictions on research and teaching of disfavored topics, apparently without any academic reasoning or justification, in terms that are vague and overbroad, increasing the risk of sanctions and other negative impacts, including self-censorship. Arbitrary government-affiliated restrictions on research and teaching content harm academic freedom, free expression, and democratic society generally.