Texas A&M University canceled a graduate ethics course three days after the semester began, according to a report distributed by The Associated Press. The university said the decision followed a review tied to its new standards on race and gender policy, and administrators determined they could not confirm whether the class met those requirements.
The university cited a lack of information from the course instructor, Professor Leonard Bright, which it said prevented administrators from determining compliance. Bright disputed the characterization.
In a schoolwide email explaining the cancellation on Wednesday, Bush School Dean John Sherman said system policy required the course to be canceled because Bright declined repeated requests to provide information on his planned instruction. Sherman said the university system’s policy bars courses from advocating race or gender ideology and from topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity, and that courses that venture into those topics require an exemption from top university officials.
Sherman wrote that he took “no pleasure” in canceling Bright’s course, and he said the decision was required under system policy. He also told faculty, “I want us to continue to teach hard topics and to engage with controversial issues,” adding, “Put simply, transparency does not equal censorship.”
The report said the cancellation was distinct from earlier course changes at Texas A&M because Bright’s class had already met once before administrators canceled it. After the review process began, a university official said the deadline for department submissions was Friday, and the university expected to know before the Jan. 28 add-drop deadline how many courses would be canceled or changed under the policy.
Bright told The Texas Tribune that race, gender and sexuality issues would arise throughout the course. He said, “I told them it was going to come up every day. During discussions, book reviews, case studies, throughout the course. There is no one day. That’s how this class works.”
According to the syllabus cited in the report, Bright’s course, Ethics and Public Policy (PSAA 642), would examine how race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and other social identities shape public policy and the ethical responsibilities of public servants. The report said Bright told the paper students were not expected to agree with his perspectives, though he might share them on related issues and matters of public concern. The syllabus also described one week devoted to equity and social justice in public administration, including readings about diversity, equity and inclusion; critical race theory; and John Rawls’ “A Theory of Justice.”
Bright said this was the only ethics class offered in the Bush School this semester. The report said 10 students were initially enrolled, and after Bright warned the class about the administrative review and potential cancellation, two students enrolled in another class. Texas A&M said it was working to help remaining students find alternative courses.
In Sherman’s faculty email, the report said Bright’s class was one of two Bush School courses requiring exemptions from the vice provost of academic affairs. Sherman wrote that administrators were able to request an exemption for the other course because that syllabus provided sufficient detail, allowing that course to proceed as designed. The report also said the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences told faculty last week that roughly 200 of the college’s courses could be affected by the policy, and that a philosophy professor said he was told to remove Plato readings related to race and gender or be reassigned.
The university said the Plato-related decision did not amount to a ban on teaching Plato, and it noted other courses include Plato’s teachings that do not touch on race or gender. The report said emails obtained by The Texas Tribune showed Bright was not asked to remove or change his course content before it was canceled.
Bright, who has taught the class since 2018, is also president of the Texas A&M chapter of the American Association of University Professors, a faculty group that opposes the system’s new race and gender ideology policy, the report said. It also said the Board of Regents passed the policy last year after a classroom discussion involving gender identity was secretly recorded and circulated online, drawing criticism from conservative activists and elected officials.
The episode has reverberated across Texas higher education, the report said, prompting reviews of course content at other public university systems, including the Texas Tech University System, which has imposed similar restrictions. The report added that no state or federal law prohibits discussion of race, gender or sexuality in college classrooms, and that state law requires public universities to post course syllabi online. It said that in the wake of the backlash at Texas A&M, professors have been required to submit syllabi for administrative review before certain courses can proceed.
The report quoted Michael Johnson, associate provost for academic enhancement and interim vice provost for academic affairs, saying the university established written guidance, timelines and a framework for syllabus and course review under the policy. He said the policy is interpreted and applied by faculty, department heads and deans within their academic fields, rather than relying on prescriptive, one-size-fits-all directives, and that the university continued to refine its guidance as clarifications were requested.