September 25, 2025 From the Courtyard of Taylor-Murphy: The undersigned graduate students of the Texas State History Department are responding to the abrupt termination, without due process, of Dr. Tom Alter. We humbly request his immediate reinstatement. We write to inform you of this event’s catastrophic impact on the Department’s academic mission from our perspective. As graduate students, we work very closely with faculty. We believe we are uniquely positioned to provide an insight into how this has impacted us as members of the department. Also, as emerging historians, this censorship around academic expression is concerning.
First and foremost, the termination of Dr. Alter has left five master’s graduate students without their thesis chair. The chair is responsible for guiding students on their projects and is required for students to complete their graduation requirements. Now, these students are forced to find alternate chairs who likely lack the same historical specialization and who are already chairing other students. Likewise, Alter’s current graduate seminar is left rudderless. Twelve students who paid for their course are left without a professor. Alter’s current undergrad Texas History class as well, which is a required class for those who are seeking their history teaching certification.
Secondly, as future academics who wish to continue engaging in historical scholarship, the University’s censorship and termination is concerning. If what we say off-campus can be misinterpreted and used against us, where does that leave the future of public dialogue?
Finally, Dr. Tom Alter’s termination has led to a wave of distress, uncertainty and fear. It is in these precise moments where Dr. Alter would provide valuable guidance and a listening ear to his graduate students, many of whom were only in the program because of him. He was always willing to provide academic and personal support. He is an excellent historian who earned his tenured position as a result of his scholarship, teaching record, and countless hours of service to the historical profession and Texas State community.
Signed,
Riley Apel Charlie Baker Nana Boamah Darrell J. Correia Adam Demshar Jude Drouillard Katherine Frederick Zoe Garrison Sammu Glasc Emma Gomez Bonnie Heitkamp-Kenner Katherine Johnson Merisa Lee Anne Livingston Jillian Martinez Matthew Medina Alejandra Navarrete Ally Rehmani Sabrina Vargas Andrew Ward Ian Whitehead Ainsley Williams Evan Williams
