Republican lawmaker gloats after Texas university kills LGBTQ+ studies program

The largest college in Texas is eliminating its minor in LGBTQ Studies over faculty objections, and the state legislator who spearheaded the program’s demise told Inside Higher Ed it’s only the first of many similar programs to fall in the state.

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“I want to end all taxpayer-funded leftist propaganda in every single one of our public institutions of higher learning,” State Representative Brian Harrison said after Texas A&M University revealed it was cutting the nascent LGBTQ Studies program. “And if it takes extreme budget cuts to get their attention, so be it.”

“This is an attack, of course, on academic freedom, but it’s also an attack on critical thinking,” faculty member and sociology professor, Chaitanya Lakkimsetti, who helped create the LGBTQ minor, said of the decision.

Last week, the Texas A&M University School Board of Regents unanimously voted to eliminate 52 minors and certificates from its flagship College Station campus due to low enrollment and performance. Included on the list was a minor in LGBTQ Studies, which had drawn the ire of Harrison earlier this year.

“Texas A&M is offering a MINOR in this??” Harrison, a former Trump political appointee and a Texas A&M graduate, tweeted in January.

Faculty objected to the program’s elimination despite its low enrollment numbers. While it had only three students enrolled in the Spring 2024 semester and only two currently enrolled in the Fall 2024 semester, the faculty noted the minor in LGBTQ Studies was only initiated in the Fall of 2022. They also objected to the inadequate consultation with the faculty, a deficiency that was noted in the report from the Board of Regents.

Despite these objections, the program was eliminated.

Harrison declared victory in September before the Board of Regents voted on the matter, telling Inside Higher Ed Texas A&M System chancellor John Sharp assured him the program would be eliminated.

“Proud to have helped deliver this victory for Texas taxpayers, who should never be forced to fund liberal indoctrination,” Harrison celebrated at the time.

When asked about faculty concerns about academic freedom being curtailed as a result of the move to eliminate the LGBTQ Studies program, Harrison showed little concern.

“Once I get done laughing, I would remind them that it is the people of the state of Texas that fund our public universities, and they are overtaxed, and they’re sick and tired of having their tax dollars weaponized against them and their values,” Harrison said.