Four political science professors recently resigned, bringing the department’s total faculty loss to four in the last two years.
Josh Ishiyama, a political science professor and department chair, said there is a pattern of faculty leaving for “greener pastures,” with reasons ranging from being overworked, wanting to move closer to home, and concerns about the implications of Senate Bill 17.
SB 17, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023, prohibits Texas public higher education institutions from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as requiring employees to participate in DEI training or make DEI statements.
Professors have been concerned about SB17’s impact on course curricula since 78 changes were made to course titles and descriptions in the College of Education last semester.
Ishiyama stated that administrative complaints and the current political climate on campus were the most serious issues raised by professors.
“Some mentioned that [SB 17] may not be the reason, but there is a sense of dread,” Ishiyama told the audience. “I think it may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Wendy Watson, pre-law advisor and political science professor, resigned this semester and will leave the university at the end of the spring term. In the upcoming fall semester, she will begin working in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
The other three departing professors declined to be interviewed, but the North Texas Daily was able to confirm their departure from two separate sources.
Watson believes the current legislative session will worsen the campus climate. She expressed concern that the law would be expanded to explicitly include course curriculum, potentially jeopardizing one of her courses, PSCI 4240 Gay Rights and The Constitution.
“Technically curriculum is still protected […] but all signs point to this legislative session and Texas removing that technically and explicitly affecting our curriculum decisions,” Watson pointed out.
“Whether it is the letter of the law or the way it is being implemented,” Watson believes SB 17 has jeopardized her ability to teach and serve her diverse student population.
Ishiyama also stated that the department struggles to retain faculty because the university cannot match offers from more prestigious institutions.
“We’re already in a hole in some ways,” Ishiyama admitted. “I mean, we aren’t the Ivies. We appear to be perpetually broke and unable to match offers from elsewhere.”
A peer-reviewed journal article published in 2023 places the university 38th in per-faculty journal publication for 2018 and 59th in the U.S. News and World Report ranking of university reputation for 2021.
“In some cases, these are poorly funded departments with relatively small faculties but with strong norms of research productivity,” according to the study. “These universities may be able to hire productive faculty members at junior ranks but are unable to retain them over time.”
Watson stated that her job as a pre-law advisor, which requires her to advise over 850 students, is extremely demanding and has had a negative impact on her physical health.
“It’s technically only 40% of my job, and I just can’t,” Watson told me. “I can’t do it. It’s literally killing me. I’ve undergone surgery three times in the last three years. I am a mess.”
Watson’s advising position, which is administered by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences rather than the political science department, does not include an assistant to help manage the workload.
“That position served the college and the university, but she did not get support from the college or university,” Ishiyama told me. “And that’s really, I think that really is what tipped her over being overwhelmed.”
According to Ishiyama, the department requested funding from the university administration in December for an assistant to the pre-law advisor.
“We put in requests for staff support for her and a couple other programs, and they’re considering it, but frankly, I think it should have been in place long ago, and not wait until we asked for it,” Ishiyama advised.
Watson stated that the department assigned a graduate student to assist her with her workload, but they were unable to devote the time required to alleviate the stress of her responsibilities.
The responsibility fell upon the department, as CLASS has been unable to provide administrative support due to financial constraints.
“‘Hey, we’ll think about it’ is not, ‘hey, it’s done,’ and I’ve reached a point where I can’t wait anymore,” Watson told me. “I can’t wait for this job to be something that it’s not.”
According to the article, a university’s reputation suffers when productive faculty leave to attend other universities.
Watson teared up as she described her feelings about leaving university.
“I feel bad,” she admitted. “I love my students here. I feel like I’m abandoning them, but I want to live past the age of 65, which I won’t be able to do at my current rate.”
