TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF REGENTS
The Texas State University Board of Regents unanimously upheld the firing of former history professor Tom Alter, confirming their support of university President Kelly Damphousse’s decision to dismiss Alter and revoke his tenure.
Following this ruling at the board’s quarterly meeting on Thursday, Alter’s lawyer Amanda Reichek said in a statement to the Daily Record that he intends to proceed with a lawsuit against the university.
“Having now exhausted his internal remedies, Dr. Alter looks forward to litigating his First Amendment and due process claims before a real tribunal,” Reichek said Thursday evening.
The agenda item about the Alter firing quickly came and went during the board of regents meeting.
Board Vice Chairman Stephen Lee made the following motion: “Having considered the record pertaining to this personnel matter and the university president’s decision to summarily dismiss Dr. Alter, the board affirms President Damphousse’s decision to summarily dismiss Dr. Thomas Alter and revoke his tenure.”
The motion was seconded by Regent Dionicio Flores. There was no discussion of this item in the open session or objections from other board members.
Reichek provided the following statement about the board’s decision on behalf of Alter.
“By upholding Professor Tom Alter’s termination, the Texas State University System Board of Regents chose cowardice over the Constitution, political expediency over academic freedom. Although Professor Alter hoped for a fair hearing befitting a ten- ured professor and recognized expert in his field, this result was sadly predictable given Governor Abbott’s current attacks on college professors, and his sole authority to appoint individuals to the Board of Regents.
“Professor Alter was terminated for engaging in core First Amendment- protected speech and for his political affiliation, in a manner a court of law has already ruled was noncompliant with Texas State University’s own policies and procedures,” Reichek said.
A spokesperson for Texas State University in San Marcos said, “TXST does not comment on personnel matters,” when the Daily Record requested a comment on the board’s decision.
Texas State University first fired history professor Tom Alter after a social media post of comments he made at the online Revolutionary Socialism Conference in September went viral. The university fired him a second time in October following a review of his case during a due process hearing. The university alleged that the statements at the conference were inappropriate, a charge he continues to deny.
On Sept. 10, Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse announced on Facebook that Alter was fired for “serious professional and personal misconduct” after the university reviewed the video from the conference.
On Sept. 22, Alter filed a lawsuit against the university alleging that his first amendment rights were violated and that the reasons for firing “were false and give every appearance of politically motivated discrimination.” Alter claims that the comments were made as a member of the Socialist Horizon organization and not as a representative of Texas State.
On Oct. 13, the university doubled down on the initial charge after a due process hearing, with University President Kelly Damphousse confirming the firing in a letter to Alter.
The case against Alter has generated a groundswell of support from academics and labor unions, beginning with a Free Speech rally at the Hays County Courthouse on Sept. 25 and continuing with letters, petitions and further rallies in support of Alter.
Following the board of regents meeting on Thursday, the Texas State Employees Union President Ilesa Daniels Ross issued a statement calling attention to what she views as the troubling pattern in the governance of Texas public institutions.
“The Board of Regents’ decision today is disappointing, but it is unfortunately predictable, “ Ross said. “They are political loyalists handpicked by the Governor. That means we get outcomes that serve political agendas rather the students of Texas who rely on our public universities or the workers that they employ.
“Dr. Alter’s termination - and the Board of Regents’ rubber-stamp on it - is part of the same political project we’ve been fighting across Texas: silencing educators, suppressing dissent, and turning our public institutions into tools of ideological control,” Ross said.
Bill Mullen, coordinator of the Committee to Defend Tom Alter and Professor Emeritus of American Studies, Purdue University, said the decision of the board of regents is an attack on free speech and democratic rights.
“Allowing Damphousse to get away with this firing weakens and chips away at two of our most important Constitutional Amendments whose significance goes way beyond the interests of professors and affects us all, especially the most vulnerable sections of society,” Mullen said. “We must stand the line and defend our basic democratic rights and prevent further inroads on these rights.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott first brought wide attention to the video, which led to Alter’s firing, when he posted it on his social media site and called for the professor’s dismissal. Soon after Alter’s second firing, Abbott posted a message declaring that that he will continue “targeting professors who are more focused on pushing leftist ideologies rather than preparing students to lead our nation.”
For the complete letter sent by Damphousse to Alter detailing the reasons the University decided to fire him, see the Daily Record story sanmarcosrecord. com/article/ 31556,txst-confirmsalter- firing-afterdueprocess- hearing. This story also includes a link to download the full letter from Damphousse explaining why the university fired Alter.
