The American Association of University Professors issued a statement following the passing of two Oklahoma executive orders aimed at higher education reform, including eliminating professors’ tenure and shifting to performance-based funding.
Executive Order 2026-07, one of the two orders signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt Thursday, directs regional universities and community colleges to phase out lifetime tenure, shifting instead toward renewable contracts based on performance and student outcomes.
AAUP President Todd Wolfson wrote in the release that tenure plays a role in supporting academic freedom and faculty governance. He stated that the organization believes the policy could impact how faculty approach teaching, research and service at affected institutions.
“Executive Order 2026-07 strips away core protections for academic freedom and faculty stability,” Wolfson wrote. “As a result, this action will have far-reaching consequences not only for higher education, but for students across Oklahoma’s public colleges, for the families who depend on those institutions, and for the long-term economic health of the state.”
Under the order, research universities may retain tenure but must implement mandatory five year reviews and performance standards for professors.
The AAUP release notes that tenure has historically been used as a mechanism to protect faculty from dismissal without due process.
“The principal purpose of tenure is to safeguard academic freedom—the foundation of rigorous teaching, independent research, and honest inquiry,” Wolfson wrote. “In service of the common good, tenure enables faculty to pursue evidence-based scholarship and teach controversial or challenging subjects without fear of political, ideological, or economic retaliation.”
The organization also stated that changes to tenure policies may influence faculty recruitment and retention at affected institutions by reflecting a misunderstanding that job stability is a privilege for only a select few.
“With this decision, Governor Stitt has made Oklahoma less attractive to highly qualified educators and has weakened the institutions that provide the most accessible and affordable education to its residents—at real cost to students, communities, and the democratic and economic future of the state,” Wolfson wrote.
Michael Givel, OU AAUP president, wrote in an email to OU Daily that the order could cause instructors at Oklahoma universities to be fearful of teaching certain topics, stating the order is an attack on academic freedom.
“This not only severely undermines academic freedom and quality at these colleges and universities, but also increases the likelihood that students transferring to OU may not have covered all topics in a given academic area,” Givel wrote. “This is anti-intellectual and an attack on what universities stand for: academic excellence and critical analysis.”
In an email to faculty, OU Provosts André-Denis Wright and Gary Raskob, of the Norman and Health Sciences campus respectively, wrote that the university will continue to award tenure based on internal merit processes.
"We will ensure not only that our post-tenure review policies continue to guide career development and enhance faculty performance but also that those policies align with any new guidance from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education," the email read.
Stitt also signed Executive Order 2026-08 Thursday which initiates financial reform in higher education, directing State Regents to create a performance-based funding plan by Oct. 1 to tie state education funding to workforce outcomes. It also orders a 90-day feasibility study on implementing 90-credit-hour bachelor’s degrees to reduce costs and time to completion.
During its January meeting, the OU Board of Regents unanimously approved adjusting eight degree programs to become 90-credit hour speciality degrees.
The eight programs cut down the traditional 120-credit hour bachelor’s degree requirement by 30 hours through significant reductions in major-specific and general education courses.
Degrees that made the change are bachelor’s in social work, applied artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital manufacturing, health care information systems, software development and integration, integrative studies, and interdisciplinary studies.
The program changes were first considered by the OU Academic Programs Council in December. According to documents posted on the OU Academic Program Council website, while all eight recommendations present different hour distributions and program changes, the changes were recommended to support the mission of the university, Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education’s priorities and the state’s economic growth through a strong graduate workforce.
According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, executive orders terminate 90 days after the inauguration of the next governor, unless continued by the incoming governor.
This story was edited by Natalie Armour.
