The Oklahoma legislature advanced a bill Tuesday that would remove the possibility of tenure for OU faculty, limit contract agreements to five years and require each state institute for higher education to submit yearly information regarding full- and part-time faculty.
Senate Bill 1782, which passed in the state Education Committee Tuesday, would extend the tenure restrictions given to regional universities last month to OU.
Executive Order 2026-07, passed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in early February, directs regional universities and community colleges to phase out lifetime tenure, shifting instead toward renewable contracts based on performance and student outcomes.
The bill, authored by Sen. Randy Grellner (R-Cushing), states the Board of Regents would no longer have the authority to establish and maintain plans for tenure of employees hired Jan. 1, 2027, or after. The bill also prohibits contracts of any employee to exceed five years.
OU’s American Association of University Professors President Michael Givel wrote in an email to OU Daily Tuesday that eliminating tenure could set back the advancement of research and discourage scientific and creative findings for fear of political interference.
“Tenure safeguards academic freedom. It is essential for the free pursuit of scientific, scholarly concepts and ideas, as well as creative research, teaching, and speech,” Givel wrote. “Abolishing tenure cripples and compromises scientific and creative research that benefits all Oklahomans. For example, in healthcare.”
Givel also wrote if faculty are no longer offered tenure in Oklahoma, they may be encouraged to seek employment at a university out of the state.
“It also sends a strong message that top-tier academics seeking employment at Oklahoma universities should look elsewhere immediately,” Givel wrote. “Why pursue a job here, including at OU, under such a repressive climate?”
In an email to the Daily Tuesday, Faculty Senate Chair Sarah Robbins wrote the senate has been monitoring the bill since its filing in January and is concerned how it could impact retention if passed.
Robbins wrote the bill as written would threaten OU’s aspirations to become a member of the Association of American Universities.
“We are concerned about the implications for recruiting and retaining talented faculty if the bill is enacted and tenure is eliminated across the public institutions in the state,” Robbins wrote. “As written, we believe this bill would undermine the University’s aspirations for AAU.”
A primary goal of OU’s “Lead On, University” strategic plan is to become a member of the Association of American Universities, an invitation-only organization of the nation’s leading research universities credited for life changing education, research and innovation. Member universities earn the majority of federal funding for research.
The bill would also require that universities electronically submit a summary of the number of faculty and graduate assistants employed by the university each year beginning July 31, 2028.
If passed, OU would be required to submit to the State Regents for Higher Education on July 31 each year:
• Number of full-time faculty employed by the institution
• Number of full-time faculty who have been awarded tenure
• Number of part-time faculty including adjunct instructors and employees
• Number of graduate assistants employed including the number of courses taught by each graduate assistant
The bill states that the board must electronically submit information provided by each college to the governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House.
This story was edited by Audrey McClour.
