Local legislators speak on tenure reform bill, Senate Bill 202, passing the house

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Earlier this week, the Indiana House of Representatives passed the controversial tenure reform bill Senate Bill 202, which would reform the tenure process in Indiana to ensure public universities adopt a philosophy of promoting free speech and “intellectual diversity.”

The bill was introduced by Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette) and passed along party lines with 67 in favor and 30 opposed. It will return to the Indiana Senate on Thursday for a potential hearing and to approve any changes made in the House.

If the Senate approves those changes, then it will head to the governor’s office.

The bill gives universities’ boards of trustees the ability to evaluate faculty members' effectiveness at fostering an environment for “free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity," which is defined as “multiple, divergent and varied scholarly perspectives on an extensive range of public policy issues.”

Boards of trustees will be able to define what intellectual diversity means at their campus, as well as within individual disciplines. The bill also directs universities to create a procedure allowing both students and employees to submit complaints against a faculty member or person who they believe isn't meeting the college's standard for intellectual diversity.

It will give the board the ability to determine whether faculty are eligible for tenure or promotion depending on their performance in promoting intellectual diversity every five years.

Out of the four legislators that represent Tippecanoe County, three have made a public statement about the bill passing the house: Deery and State Reps. Chris Campbell and Sheila Klinker, both Democrats.

State Sen. Spencer Deery’s statement

"The passage of Senate Bill 202 by the Indiana House of Representatives is a win for academic freedom, free expression and intellectual diversity on college campuses and a great victory for those of us who believe the purpose of a university is to challenge students by fostering intellectually diverse communities,” Deery said in a statement regarding SB 202 passing the statehouse.

"Some Indiana public universities are already thriving on those grounds, and this measured bill would empower them to improve with minimal disruption or inconvenience to how they already operate.

"I worked closely with the House to craft the amendments that were adopted, and I intend to concur with the changes that were made and hope to see the bill sent to the governor's desk as soon as possible."

State Rep. Chris Campbell’s statement

“It’s disheartening to see someone from my community carry this legislation. From the amount of correspondence I’ve received, I know SB 202 fails to represent the views of my constituents and the Purdue faculty. We’re proud to be a college town, and many members of our community are successful, tenured professors. They’ve worked hard for West Lafayette and for our state through their research and development, but this bill calls their dedication to their fields into question. Dozens of faculty members from Purdue University have testified against this bill and the hardship it will create,” Campbell said in a statement regarding SB 202 passing the statehouse.

“In many ways, this bill acts as the proverbial thought police. It seeks to punish faculty for things they are ‘likely to do’ instead of actual misdeeds. It places vague, concerning standards on our public universities and their faculty without clear guidelines. Individual faculty should be judged by the standards of their field, not by a particular student or board member who believes they fail an ideological litmus test.

“Intellectual diversity and academic freedom are important, and we have standards in place to protect them. It's important to ensure our students feel valued, and it’s essential to ensure our students can speak their minds. I don’t believe Indiana has a public university that squashes civil debate or free inquiry. This bill puts our universities and professors at risk by attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. I’m saddened to see SB 202 pass since it will stifle academic freedom and is an overreach of our state government.”

State Rep. Sheila Klinker’s statement

“As a former Purdue student and faculty member, I strongly oppose the passage of SB 202. This legislation harms university faculty members who have dedicated their careers to the well-being of their institutions.  It is the professors that define the institution since it’s their research that recruits potential students and funding. Our university's faculty impacts our young students profoundly through their guidance, mentorship and dedication to the classroom. I believe this legislation directly puts faculty and their positions at risk,” Klinker said in a statement regarding SB 202 passing the statehouse.

“I fear that many of our faculty will consider leaving the state in search of better positions. Our public universities may have trouble recruiting the best of the best since we have created this tenure test. Recruitment for our universities is a difficult job since they compete with other institutions on a global scale. This bill will have a serious impact on our public universities' ability to recruit faculty members and will cost them millions in its implementation.

“To our professors who spoke out about SB 202, I appreciate your courage and tenacity. Thank you for standing up for what is right and thank you for sharing your thoughts with the state legislature. I know many from the Lafayette community were among you at the Statehouse. Be assured, I will work with our college educators to ensure they’re supported in Indiana.”

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on X at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Senate Bill 202: Local legislators speak on bill passing the house