Legislative bills on tenure and DEI threaten Kentucky higher education | Opinion
As March begins, the sun shines a little higher. Students, faculty, and staff from diverse social and residential backgrounds intermix in quads, libraries, hospitals, and buildings across Kentucky’s college campuses. However, looming over the future of higher education are bills like HB 4 and HB 424. What do these bills mean for Kentucky’s higher education? HB4 claims to focus on vaguely defined “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives. HB4 has much broader implications for university competitiveness and systems fostering innovation, understanding, creativity, and success in higher education.
HB 424 inflicts new “performance and productivity” reviews on public college faculty and presidents, seeking to disrupt pre-existing faculty review processes and principles of faculty shared governance. Currently, standards for faculty performance and productivity are established in university college/school personnel policies and approved by representative bodies of peers. University unit personnel policies are appropriate to the professional missions and situations of individual university units. HB424 will erode academic freedom and innovation, reducing faculty performance and productivity by creating additional administrative burdens and discouraging cutting-edge teaching and research contributions.
Together, HB 4 and HB 424 will have chilling effects on degrees, scholarships, research, classroom dialogue, professional-development and career initiatives, and other essential training and support systems integral to Kentucky’s economy and education. HB4’s vague language (see the 43-page full document) will cause chaos and uncertainty—and fiscal waste—creating an avalanche of lawsuits that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
As we have seen in Texas, where 14 institutions eliminated hundreds of positions, HB4 will affect thousands of Kentucky university employees. HB 4’s required “intellectual freedom” survey will create cost and administrative burdens, data-validity problems, and the potential for political misuse. The chilling effects of HB 4 and similar legislation threaten the funding and vitality of programs, resources, grants, and financial aid, impacting diverse students and employees. Offices and departments have already begun to dismantle courses, programming, and content out of fear of retribution. Yet, fields like dermatology advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in education and training to help health-care providers avoid misdiagnosing and mistreating diverse patients. Without DEI in such training, the citizens of Kentucky are at risk.
Proponents of HB 4 frame “DEI” initiatives as “discriminatory,” arguing that they only benefit certain groups and that they lead to the hiring and recruitment of under-qualified individuals and students.
However, this argument falls flat in the face of evidence. Higher education trains future workers and diverse workforces consistently outperform their competitors. A well-established body of research shows how diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) programs and initiatives bring students and other university members together to learn from each other’s differences and to co-create inclusive campus environments.
Research demonstrates the importance of support and accessibility systems focused on race, gender, sexuality, language, and other social statuses, including intersections with income. DEIB programs are led by experts seeking to foster environments where students and employees succeed and learn, increasing their competitiveness in a global context, exposing them to cultures, histories, and backgrounds different from their own.
HB 4 and HB 424 will push students, athletes, researchers, faculty, and higher-education leaders, along with scientists, nurses, doctors, counselors, teachers, and more to leave Kentucky or approach our state with fear and unease, as they have begun to do in Florida and Texas.
HB 4 and HB 424 hinder Kentucky’s vital professions, research, and potential grant and funding avenues through their chilling effects and stripping of essential, existing support systems, funding streams, and review processes necessary for inclusive and productive academic and work environments and student, employee, and faculty success.
These bills harm Kentucky’s students and economy by making it harder for universities to recruit and retain faculty, students, and staff. They inhibit our competitiveness and movement toward more accessible, affordable, inclusive, and innovative colleges where university members feel supported and free to engage in important research, work, and learning.
Ultimately, HB 4 and HB 424 limit the array of possibilities, the prosperity, and the vitality of Kentucky’s higher education.
Melanie Jones Gast is a faculty member at University of Louisville. Kristin Sajadi is a PhD Candidate at University of Louisville. James Orlick is in grant writing and innovation and a Ph.D. Student at University of Louisville. We are also United Campus Workers and Kentuckians for Higher Education Coalition members. Views are our own and do not necessarily reflect our institution.