UT Austin professors frustrated with department eliminations in the College of Liberal Arts

UT Austin professors frustrated with dept. eliminations

Professors and students at UT Austin said several departments in the College of Liberal Arts are set to be eliminated.

AUSTIN, Texas - Faculty and students at the University of Texas are continuing to look for answers after it was announced that several departments in the College of Liberal Arts would be combined into just two departments.

What we know:

The announcement came on February 12 from UT President Jim Davis, who informed the campus that seven departments in total would be a part of the change in structure.

The Department of European and Eurasian Studies will be a single department created from:

• Department of French and Italian
• Department of Germanic Studies
• Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies

The Department of Social and Cultural Analysis will be a single department created from:

• Department of African and African Diaspora Studies
• Department of American Studies
• Department of Mexican American and Latina/Latino Studies
• Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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In the letter, Davis states that the student-to-faculty ratio of the College of Liberal Arts was one of the driving factors behind the decisions. He claims that student-to-faculty ratios can range from 2-to-1 to almost 60-to-1. 

He also states the university considered a combination of factors, including size, scope, academic mission, student demand, student-to-faculty ratio, resource allocation, and other dimensions. It was found that there were "significant inconsistencies and fragmentation across the college’s departments."

Faculty and staff speak out

The other side:

"We're setting ourselves up for failure for probably decades to come," says Karma Chavez, a professor of Mexican American Latina/o Studies at UT.

Chavez said rumors of consolidations began floating around campus in August 2025. In September, a Liberal Arts committee was formed to discuss future actions, but Chavez claims that most departments which ended up being affected weren’t a part of the decision-making process.

"My department was not included. As it turns out, five of the seven departments that ended up being eliminated and consolidated were not included. I think it's fair to say that we're a little bit frustrated about the fact that we didn't have a seat at the table," Chavez said.

Although President Davis claims the student-to-faculty ratio and other findings as motivation for the decision, Chavez believes political pressure played a role in the move.

"I think there is a significant appetite to get rid of courses that are deemed to be woke or whatever the latest language is to describe work that deals with issues of power and oppression," Chavez said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: UT Austin to eliminate positions

Nearly two dozen positions are being eliminated at UT Austin, resulting in layoffs. But as the provost puts it, these resources will be "repurposed."

For the students involved in the now consolidated departments, it’s a defeating blow in a fight that has been going on for months.

"Students, faculty, community, and staff organized last semester. We wrote letters, we held rallies, we made our concerns known all on deaf ears," says Alfonso Ayala III, a PhD student in Mexican American Latino/a Studies. 

As the consolidations have now become a reality, he said those affected are now feeling a range of emotions.

"There's just a lot of confusion and frustration over the disrespect that there is in terms of them seemingly having no concern over how this might impact those of us in these departments," Ayala said.

When it comes to what the new department structures mean for budgeting, staffing, new curriculum, and general operations, it seems there might be more questions than answers.

"I don't know how much that budget is going to be. I don't know what staff they're going to give the new departments. I don't know if they're going to allow us to keep the various degree programs that are run by these departments that currently exist. I don't know if faculty are going to be fired in the process. I basically don't know anything because we literally got no information from any of the communications we've received," says Chavez.

What's next:

UT President Jim Davis says that reviews are underway of the curriculum to determine what majors, minors, and courses will be offered in the newly formed departments. 

Students already enrolled in the departments being consolidated can continue to pursue their degree programs within the new departments while the curriculum review and departmental change are underway.