Houston Faculty Must Pledge Not to “Indoctrinate” Students

Faculty members in the University of Houston’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Science were asked to sign a three-page memo pledging not to “indoctrinate” their students, the Houston Chronicle reported.

In a November email to faculty, Houston president Renu Khator wrote that the university’s responsibility is to “give [students] the ability to form their own opinions, not to force a particular one on them. Our guiding principle is to teach them, not to indoctrinate them.” The recent memo, sent by college dean Daniel O’Connor, asks faculty to “document compliance” with Khator’s note. It’s a way to ensure all faculty members are compliant with Texas’s Senate Bill 37, O’Conner told associate English professor María González in a meeting. The law mandates regular reviews of core undergraduate curriculum but does not address indoctrination or what material can or cannot be taught.

By Feb. 10, faculty must signal their agreement with the following five statements: “A primary purpose of higher education is to enhance critical thinking;” “Our responsibility is to give students the ability to form their own opinions, not to indoctrinate them;” “I understand the definition and attributes of critical thinking;” “I design my courses and course materials to be consistent with the definition and attributes of critical thinking;” and “I use methods of instruction that are intended to enhance students’ critical thinking.”

Faculty immediately pushed back. The University of Houston American Association of University Professors chapter encouraged faculty members to use proposed “conscientious objector” language in response, which states, in part: “The premise of this assertion is a straw man, and I am concerned that my signing of this letter could serve as some admission of guilt concerning these false accusations. As such, I request that you accept this letter, in which I am asserting that I have never engaged in indoctrination and that I take offense, as a scholar, at such insinuations.”

González said O’Conner told her that “no punitive actions will be directed at anyone” who doesn’t sign the acknowledgement form, but that he will have to review the syllabi of any faculty member who doesn’t sign the form. González refused to sign the acknowledgement or even click the link, she said.