Faculty at the University of Arizona report a growing sense of unease as they find themselves navigating intense political pressures from both the right and the left. New government directives clashing with established campus cultural norms have created a challenging environment, leading some professors to fear for their jobs and question the future of academic freedom.
Frank Gonzalez, an associate professor in the School of Government and Public Policy, researches race and political psychology. He said recent governmental policies targeting his field of study have forced conversations he never expected to have. "That was the first time that my wife and I talked about, like, 'OK, What's Plan B if I lose my job?'," Gonzalez stated. "And I know a lot of other professors had that same conversation."
Key Takeaways
- University of Arizona faculty are experiencing pressure from both long-standing progressive campus norms and new conservative government mandates.
- Directives from the Trump administration targeting diversity programs and certain research topics have created job insecurity and funding challenges for professors.
- External groups are actively monitoring and publicizing the views and actions of individual professors, adding to the climate of caution.
- The university has formally rejected government proposals that would limit academic freedom, but faculty remain concerned about the broader chilling effect on speech and research.
A Two-Front Ideological Battle
For many years, discussions about political pressure on university campuses centered on culturally enforced norms, often described as "political correctness" from the left. However, faculty members now describe a new, more direct form of pressure originating from the government.
The Trump administration has issued executive orders to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, limit discussions on gender, and promote what it terms "patriotic" teaching. This has put academics, particularly in the social sciences, in a difficult position.
Several professors, speaking on background, explained that these two forces are now coexisting on campus. They feel caught between the expectations of a progressive campus culture and the mandates of a conservative government. The key difference, they note, is that the new pressure comes with the weight of official authority and the potential for direct professional consequences, such as loss of funding or employment.
"Fear of right-wing ideological pressure has always been the main concern," said Gonzalez, who joined the university in 2017. "We're very conscious of the fact that we're perceived and often labeled as lefty indoctrinators."
The Government's Role
The Trump administration's influence extends beyond broad executive orders. It has also reportedly used keyword searches for terms like "gender," "diversity," and even "women" to identify and end federal grants. This has had a direct impact on researchers like Gonzalez, who now see little chance of securing federal funding for their work. "I've given up on the possibility of getting a grant while this stuff is the policy of the government," he said.
The Watchlists and Public Scrutiny
The fear of being targeted is not abstract. Conservative organizations have become increasingly active in monitoring and publicizing the activities of university instructors. One prominent example is Turning Point USA's "Professor Watchlist," which aims to document professors who allegedly "advance leftist propaganda."
Currently, 18 University of Arizona professors are on this list. The reasons for their inclusion vary widely, from signing a joint letter regarding the war in Gaza to making a joke about Donald Trump in an interview outside of class. One professor was listed simply for being a transgender individual who researches transgender health.
This type of public scrutiny has amplified the sense of caution among educators. A recent incident at the University of Oklahoma illustrates how quickly these situations can escalate. An instructor was placed on leave after a student, with the help of Turning Point USA, protested a grade on a paper that the instructor said failed to meet assignment criteria and relied on personal ideology over empirical evidence.
The Evolution of DEI and Campus Culture
While government mandates represent a new challenge, the internal campus culture has its own complexities. Leila Hudson, the chair of the faculty senate at the University of Arizona, distinguishes between what she calls "good DEI" and "bad DEI."
She describes "good DEI" as the university's support centers for various cultural and racial groups, which were designed to help students succeed. Most of these centers were closed in May following the Trump administration's executive orders.
"I still see the residue of what I call bad DEI," Hudson explained. "The bad DEI is not the part where you attempt to make every student feel comfortable, welcome and supported on campus. The bad DEI is where by invoking certain pieties and orthodoxies in a self-serving manner, one can advance one's career."
A Historical Term Returns
Leila Hudson notes a certain irony in the current situation. The term "politically correct" is said to have originated in the Soviet Union to describe adherence to the Communist Party line. She argues that government dictates on what can be taught or researched come closer to this original meaning than the campus-based cultural pressures of recent decades.
Saura Mascalone, associate director of the university's Center for the Philosophy of Freedom, observed that at the peak of DEI's influence, there was a "remedial view" that required checking certain boxes to address past injustices. This, she argues, blurred the lines between academic inquiry and political projects.
University Pushes Back, But Caution Prevails
Despite the external pressure, the University of Arizona's leadership has taken a stand for academic independence. The university formally rejected a proposed "compact" from the Trump administration that would have given the government some control over academic content.
In his response, President Suresh Garimella affirmed the institution's dedication to intellectual freedom. “The university maintains its commitment to academic freedom which undergirds the right of faculty to teach free from unreasonable or arbitrary restrictions, to conduct research, and to address matters of institutional policy and governance,” he wrote.
Initiatives like the university's Discourse Series, started in 2018 by senior lecturer Ted McLoof, aim to foster better communication. "We mainly just tried to make sure we were listening to each other more, but also trying to dismantle the sort of binary left-right thinking of every single issue in the country," McLoof said.
Still, a palpable sense of caution remains. With the constant presence of cameras and the potential for any classroom comment to be taken out of context, many feel they must be guarded.
"You have to assume that you're being recorded at all times, and that you never say anything that you wouldn't be comfortable seeing on the front page of the newspaper," Hudson advised. "That poses a challenge sometimes, but it's a useful challenge so that you don't teach in an unthoughtful way."
For professors like Frank Gonzalez, the immediate goal is simply to continue their work. While he feels confident in his expertise to navigate controversial topics in the classroom, the broader political climate remains a source of significant concern for him and his colleagues.
