An American Association of University Professors survey of faculty in southern states, now including Oklahoma, reveals growing concerns about political influence in university curriculum.
Of the survey’s 2,763 responses, which was conducted by state AAUP chapters across 13 states, 41 Oklahoma professors submitted input. Respondents were not asked to disclose which university they were affiliated with or academic discipline.
A log of responses from Oklahoma professors shows 64% of respondents reported they would not recommend working in Oklahoma to colleagues or graduate students.
Nine of 40 reported applying to a teaching job out of state since 2024. Of those nine respondents, some report issues like academic freedom, salary, the state’s broad political climate and diversity, equity and inclusion as influential in a potential move. One respondent credited “non-scientific, critical ‘woke’ ideologies” as a reason for applying out of state.
Fifteen of 40 respondents reported they will seek employment out of state in the next hiring cycle, but most reported they intend to stay in academia long-term.
According to Georgia AAUP President Matthew Boedy, overall findings from the survey show about 60% of total respondents would not recommend their state as a "desirable place to work for colleagues or graduate students.”
OU Daily reached out to OU’s AAUP chapter president, Michael Givel, who directed questions and comments to Boedy.
According to Boedy, there was a 6% increase in respondents claiming to have syllabi or curriculum choices questioned by administrators, rising to just over 20%. Only five of the 41 Oklahoma professors claimed to have had syllabi or curriculum choices questioned.
Of 40 Oklahoma respondents who disclosed whether or not they were tenured, 27 reported being tenured at their respective university.
The 13 participating states include Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. The survey was open from August 4 through Sept. 4 and was distributed through social media and email.
In March, the Oklahoma Legislature advanced a bill that would limit the possibility of tenure for OU faculty. The bill was not seen during the last legislative session, but will likely advance in the coming session, which begins Feb. 1.
The bill followed an executive order signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in February. Executive Order 2026-07 directs regional universities and community colleges to phase out lifetime tenure, shifting instead toward renewable contracts based on performance and student outcomes.
Currently, OU reviews its tenured faculty every five years in accordance with its post-tenure review policy.
In a Thursday interview with OU Daily editors, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. responded to the growing concerns with government intervention in higher education, saying the elimination of tenure points to greater distrust between government and higher education institutions.
“You see governments that are taking positions because they don’t believe in their eyes that the universities are listening, …” Harroz said. “The question is: Are we, the faculty, engaging in an evaluation of ourselves and holding ourselves accountable? … The answer is yes, I believe.”
Harroz said the university’s tenure review process was crafted in collaboration with university faculty, rather than with outside influence.
“We have one of the most, I believe, honest and excellent post-tenure review standards in the country, …” Harroz said. “We did the same thing around endowed chairs and professorships. They’re not a grant forever. They have to be evaluated.”
Harroz said shared governance is a core principle of the Association of American Universities, or AAU, which OU aims to join in the coming years.
The AAU is an invitation-only organization of the nation’s leading research universities. Member universities earn the majority of federal funding for research.
“What (the AAU says) is that we, the faculty, have a special obligation. It's not an ordinary obligation in an ordinary workplace, but a special obligation to hold ourselves to a higher standard and to achieve that,” Harroz said.
Harroz said he is proud of the work OU faculty has done to develop its post-tenure review policy, but it is up to the university to maintain trust between it and the state government.
“If you don’t want people to, or government, to come in and dictate how we govern ourselves, we have to do it in such an effective way that we earn that trust and we also demonstrate that trust, and I think this is what we’re going to see from OU,” Harroz said. “I think we’re a leader in this area and I’m so proud to work with our faculty on this. I think it should be a model for the country.”
This story was edited by Macey Thaxton and Audrey McClour. This story was copy edited by Kylie Caldwell and Sophie Hemker.
