The University of Texas at Austin is restructuring departments at the College of Liberal Arts. The decision was announced by the dean of the college in a 30-minute meeting with department chairs on Thursday. The changes are set to be finalized by September 2027.
The departments of African and African Diaspora Studies; American Studies; Mexican American and Latina/o Studies; and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies will be consolidated into a new Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.
The departments of French and Italian Studies; Germanic Studies; and Slavic and Eurasian Studies will no longer exist as independent departments, according to staff who were part of the meeting. UT will also review curriculum and assess degree programs, although staff were not given specifics on the matter. It is also unclear how the consolidation of these departments will affect institutes or research centers and staffing.
In a written statement after the meeting, faculty said "these changes have been rushed through with minimal weigh-in from faculty and no input at all from staff or students." The group said more than 800 students would be affected by these changes.
Faculty, staff and students have worried for months about a potential consolidation after the UT System began auditing courses related to gender studies in October.
That same month, UT Austin created the Advisory Committee on Administrative Structure to consider modifying the structure of the liberal arts college. Daniel Brink, the college's associate dean for academic affairs, announced the creation of the committee and potential “loss of autonomy for small units” but did not provide further details at the time.
The decision comes at a time when Texas universities are making changes related to their sex and gender curriculums and resources. In January, Texas A&M University eliminated its women and gender studies degree program. In December, the Texas Tech University System banned professors from promoting race or sex-based “prejudice” or mentioning the existence of more than two genders. Additionally, the University of Houston replaced its longtime women and gender resource center with a parent and family office at the start of the spring semester.
KUT News has reached out to the university for comment.
This is a developing story.
