Texas A&M suspended professor accused of criticizing Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in lecture

[essentialsaltes]

Joy Alonzo, a respected opioid expert, was in a panic.

The Texas A&M University professor had just returned home from giving a routine lecture on the opioid crisis at the University of Texas Medical Branch when she learned a student had accused her of disparaging Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during the talk.

In the few hours it took to drive from Galveston, the complaint had made its way to her supervisors, and Alonzo’s job was suddenly at risk.

Alonzo was right to be afraid. Not only were her supervisors involved, but so was Chancellor John Sharp, a former state comptroller who now holds the highest-ranking position in the Texas A&M University System, which includes 11 public universities and 153,000 students.

Sharp sent a text directly to the lieutenant governor: “Joy Alonzo has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation re firing her. shud [sic] be finished by end of week.”

The Texas A&M system confirmed the series of phone calls and text messages that led to Alonzo’s investigation was kicked off by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, a graduate of UTMB’s medical school. The Tribune confirmed her daughter, a first-year medical student at the time, attended Alonzo’s lecture. Buckingham served six years in the Texas Senate with Patrick, who endorsed her run for land commissioner last year, and she recently attended Sharp’s wedding in May.

The revelation comes as Texas A&M is reeling over concerns that the university allowed politically motivated outsiders to derail the hiring of Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, to revive the journalism school at Texas A&M. The subsequent outcry over how Texas A&M handled the situation prompted the university president to resign last week

 

[SimplyMe]

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised no one has commented but a professor being suspended and likely fired, merely because they criticized a government official on a particularly topic, should be concerning to everyone. Given the current state of Texas politics, unfortunately it doesn't seem surprising.

 

[Arcangl86]

This seems like a fairly blatant 1A violation.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

It's not even clear exactly what she said.

According to one student who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the school, some students wondered if it was when Alonzo said that the lieutenant governor’s office was one of the reasons it’s hard for drug users to access certain care for opioid addiction or overdoses.

A second student who also asked to remain anonymous for the same reason said Alonzo made a comment that the lieutenant governor’s office had opposed policies that could have prevented opioid-related deaths, and by doing so had allowed people to die.

A third student who also spoke on the condition of anonymity said Alonzo talked about how policies, like the state’s ban on fentanyl test strips, have a direct impact on the ability to prevent opioid overdoses and deaths. A push to legalize the test strips died earlier this year in the Patrick-led Senate despite support from top Republicans, including Abbott.

All of the students interviewed said they felt Alonzo’s comments were accurate and they were not offended by anything in the presentation.

The following day, pharmacy school Dean George Udeani said in a memo to Alonzo that during the lecture she “related an anecdote and an interaction with a state official.”

“I understand that your comment did not assign blame. However, some members of the audience felt that your anecdote was offensive,”

That's especially worrying - no one the reporters were able to talk to could remember anything particularly offensive, and even the school won't say what it was that prompted the action aside from "some members of the audience found it offensive." When you punish someone for their speech and don't bother to tell them what it was that they said, that has a huge chilling effect on speech overall.

 

[The IbanezerScrooge]

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised no one has commented but a professor being suspended and likely fired, merely because they criticized a government official on a particularly topic, should be concerning to everyone. Given the current state of Texas politics, unfortunately it doesn't seem surprising.

This was my first thought.

 

[durangodawood]

“I understand that your comment did not assign blame. However, some members of the audience felt that your anecdote was offensive,”

Advertise that disloyalty leads to dismissal, but never say precisely what it was. Thats the best way to enforce political loyalty.

 

[essentialsaltes]

The revelation comes as Texas A&M is reeling over concerns that the university allowed politically motivated outsiders to derail the hiring of Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, to revive the journalism school at Texas A&M. The subsequent outcry over how Texas A&M handled the situation prompted the university president to resign last week

Texas A&M reaches $1 million settlement with journalism professor over hiring controversy​

“Texas A&M acknowledges that mistakes were made during the hiring process relating to Dr. McElroy. The leadership of Texas A&M apologizes to Dr. McElroy for the way her employment application was handled, has learned from its mistakes and will strive to ensure similar mistakes are not repeated in the future,” the school said in a joint statement with McElroy.

 

[Pommer]

Dr Joy Alonzo was reinstated in late March after a thorough review of the situation.

 

[FireDragon76]

Dr Joy Alonzo was reinstated in late March after a thorough review of the situation.

They probably realized being a university where being known for attacking academic freedom wouldn't help their reputation as an institution of higher learning.