Academic Freedom | Inside Higher Ed

A color blocked collection of three photos, Clyde Barrow, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley political science professor, the Texas capitol building and Tom Alter, a former Texas State University history professor.

Faculty Academic Freedom

For Ousted Professors, Texas’s Blue Wave Could Help Their Cases

Starting in January, Democrats will control the governorship, the statehouse and the attorney general’s office. They offer a potentially more friendly legal landscape for professors fighting suspensions and dismissals related to speech.

An illustration, done mostly in orange, of the U.S. Supreme Court building.

Quick Takes

13 AGs Ask Supreme Court to Uphold Florida’s Stop WOKE Act

Twelve attorneys general have joined Florida in asking the Supreme Court to uphold a state law that would limit what...

A photograph of Ken Levy next to one of Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge’s campus.

Quick Takes

LSU Law Professor to Return to Class After Being Suspended for Political Speech

Ken Levy, a Louisiana State University law professor who was put on leave last year after a student complained about...

Texas gov.-elect, State Rep. Gina Hinojosa and U.S. Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-TX) toast with a fountain beverage at a Whataburger restaurant at the conclusion of a midterm election night watch party at the Long Center on November 3, 2026 in Austin, Texas.

Government Politics & Elections

Democrats’ Texas Takeover Could Reshape Boards, Laws and More

The Lone Star State was at the vanguard of the nation’s conservative higher ed overhauls. But Republicans now must relinquish control of state offices and one legislative chamber.

Opinion

Columns Debatable Ideas

Academic Freedom Protects Politics

Attempts to suppress “political” ideas have no place in a free country or a free university.

By John K. Wilson

A photo illustration featuring a feuding blue donkey and red elephant, a person raising a bullhorn in their hand, a robot and a person shaking hands and a tired looking professional with their hand on their head.

Faculty Academic Freedom

Ahead of Midterms, Faculty Report Self-Censoring on DEI, Politics

Also in Inside Higher Ed’s latest faculty survey, professors report that AI has eroded their confidence in the authenticity of students’ work and damaged trust.

A photo illustration of a person holding a cellphone recording a college campus.

Diversity

A Conservative Group Used to Target the Media. Now It Hunts DEI.

Accuracy in Media deploys billboard trucks and undercover recordings to accuse students and staff of supporting Hamas or running illegal DEI programs. Its current leader says the organization’s tactics remain true to its original mission. Some disagree.

Faculty members and lawmakers stand outside the Capitol Building behind a podium that says Unions Defend Free Speech on Campus

Governance Accreditation

A Planned Intellectual Diversity Accreditation Standard Draws Opposition

The American Association of University Professors president told the Commission on Colleges and Universities that institutions shouldn’t “be expected to prioritize intellectual pluralism on settled scholarly questions.”