Texas lawmakers consider limiting tenure after UT-Austin professor sued students over accusations of

[TexasTowelie]

Texas lawmakers consider limiting tenure after UT-Austin professor sued students over accusations of promoting pedophilia

by Kate McGee, Texas Tribune


The Texas Legislature is considering a bill that would allow a public college or university to revoke a faculty member’s tenure if they file a civil lawsuit against a student.

The legislation, filed by Republican Houston Sen. Paul Bettencourt, was inspired by a University of Texas at Austin professor who filed libel lawsuits against multiple students who accused him of promoting pedophilia with his research and called for his removal. One of the students sued by the teacher is the daughter of Allen Blakemore, a prominent conservative political consultant who has worked for Bettencourt.

UT-Austin classics professor Thomas Hubbard, who is tenured, studies ancient pederasty, or the sexual relationship between a man and young boy, which multiple students raised concerns with in 2019. Hubbard taught a class called “Mythologies of Rape,” and published academic writing about the age at which boys can consent to sexual relations, including an article titled "Sexual Consent and the Adolescent Male, or What Can We Learn from the Greeks?"

At the time, former UT-Austin President Greg Fenves said he found the content “outrageous,” but he maintained that academic research, including the study of controversial or offensive ideas, is protected by the First Amendment.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/16/texas-tenure-ut-austin/