Texas Tech University System Chancellor Brandon Creighton has issued two directives limiting how professors can teach about race, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. The rules also call for phasing out programs focused on those subjects, and faculty who don’t comply could face discipline. The Texas Tech University System Board of Regents should step in and rescind these directives now.

Here is what makes this so troubling. When the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 37 in 2025, lawmakers stripped out language that would have barred core courses from teaching “identity politics” and theories about systemic racism and sexism. Creighton wrote that bill as a state senator. After becoming chancellor, he imposed limits at Texas Tech on some of the very subjects the Legislature chose to leave alone.

Professors say the rules are so unclear that many are quietly dropping books and lessons out of fear. One English professor says she was pressured to cut material on The Silence of the Lambs. A psychology professor says the rules have changed how he teaches about suicide risk. Administrators also told faculty to stop talking with students about the policies.

The damage is already showing. A biology professor who had just earned tenure left for Rhode Island, and a history professor left for New York. Every professor NPR interviewed said they expect more colleagues to leave within a year. In July, faculty groups sued in federal court, arguing the rules are too vague to follow and violate their constitutional rights.

“When prohibitions come down from above that are not clear, but are vague and broadly construed, it increases their impact,” Amy Reid of PEN America told NPR.

Students in Lubbock deserve professors who can teach without guessing what might cost them their jobs. The Board of Regents can restore clear rules and respect the line lawmakers drew.

Sign the petition to tell the Texas Tech Board of Regents to protect academic freedom before more professors walk away.