Ad Hoc Response Committee - Survey Results

Executive Summary

In late 2025, Chancellors Tedd Mitchell and Brandon Creighton released memos to Texas Tech University containing new guidelines and restrictions on course content, along with a course content review process. Course content for the spring 2026 semester was reviewed by the university in early 2026 and some courses were submitted to the Board of Regents. Many faculty raised concerns about the guidelines, restrictions, and implementation.

The Faculty Senate formed an ad hoc Response Committee in fall 2025 to evaluate faculty responses to these memos and their implementation, including the course content review process. As part of its remit, the Response Committee developed a survey that Faculty Senate voted to send to Texas Tech faculty. The survey ran from May 8, 2026 through May 19, 2026.

The survey received 367 responses, which is 1.5x greater than responses to the 2025 annual IT evaluation survey. Faculty perceptions of the Chancellors’ Memos were negative. About 10% of faculty thought the Chancellors’ Memos had a positive impact on their teaching, research, and student mentoring, while an additional 10-20% were neutral on the impact. Approximately 50% of faculty reported choosing to alter their own teaching content in response to the Chancellors’ Memos, with ~25% being asked by administrators to alter their teaching content. Despite the Memos not imposing restrictions on research or service, faculty also reported alterations in these areas. About 18% of faculty chose to alter their research, with another 7% asked to alter their research by administrators. Approximately 30% of university service was altered in response to the Chancellors’ Memos. The Chancellors’ Memos had a negative impact on faculty retention, with 46% concerned about their tenure and/or promotion, and 52% considering jobs at other universities. When asked about implementation of the Chancellors’ Memos, only 30% of faculty thought expectations from upper administrators were clear, while only 34% felt supported by upper administrators. Chairs were more clear and more supportive. About 60% of faculty indicated that the memos were implemented in an inconsistent manner between departments and faculty members. The Edward E. Whitacre Jr College of Engineering was least affected by the memos, while the College of Education and J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts were most impacted by these changes.

Overall, faculty were dissatisfied with the Chancellors’ Memos, with satisfaction scoring 1.88 out of 5 on the Likert scale. Satisfaction varied by college, with the most satisfied college (Edward E. Whitacre Jr College of Engineering) scoring it 3.4, and the least satisfied college (J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts) scoring it 1.35. Qualitative comments aligned with the quantitative questions. The few positive comments (7% of comments) indicated support for the memos and end of DEI. Neutral comments indicated no personal impact of the Memos. Negative comments (85% of comments) indicated reasons for dissatisfaction that included the loss of reputation, effects on student/faculty recruitment, negative impacts on faculty retention, damage to academic freedom, and the creation of a climate of fear.

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