AUSTIN—A new advisory board designed to study general education requirements at taxpayer-subsidized colleges and universities includes several members who have advocated for left-wing ideologies.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved 14 nominations from two- and four-year colleges and universities to the new committee as part of the consent agenda at its quarterly meeting on Thursday.
Placement of this item on the consent agenda means that it passed without discussion.
The committee in question was created in response to Senate Bill 37, a new law passed during the 2025 regular legislative session that overhauls several aspects of university governance. The legislation mandates the creation of a General Education Curriculum Advisory Committee under the coordinating board.
SB 37 requires this committee to “consider methods for determining general education curriculum component courses and for condensing the number of general education curriculum courses required at institutions of higher education.” The deadline for its report is November 2026, and by December, the coordinating board will consider and send the report’s findings and recommendations to state lawmakers.
A preliminary review reveals that three committee members have publicly advocated for left-wing causes.
Dr. Andrew Klein
Dr. Andrew Klein is a professor of geosciences at Texas A&M. Klein was the final president of Texas A&M’s previous faculty senate, which was recently abolished under SB 37. In August, the regents of the Texas A&M University System voted to reconstitute it as a faculty advisory council as allowed by the new law.
In a November 2024 faculty senate meeting, after the TAMU regents ended an LGBTQ minor and 51 other “low-performing” programs, Klein said, “I think there’s a lot of concern about [the regents’ action].”
As its president, Klein advocated for shared governance during the faculty senate’s August 11 meeting. “Shared governance” was a system in which universities’ boards of regents delegated authority to university presidents, who subsequently shared power with the faculty, which was represented by a faculty senate. SB 37 now prohibits this practice.
“I think that we all have to work really hard to ensure that [shared governance] continues, because it has serious ramifications to our standing as universities in the world,” Klein said.
Klein currently serves on the committee tasked with finding a permanent president for Texas A&M.
Dr. Gaye Lynn Scott
Dr. Gaye Lynn Scott is Austin Community College’s vice chancellor of instruction. Her official biography listed “promoting … equity” as a primary professional focus and stated that she had “led efforts to embed equity in faculty hiring.” After Texas Scorecard requested a comment from ACC, Scott’s profile no longer includes these statements.
In response to a follow-up question about both this change and Scott’s current stance on DEI, ACC provided the following statement:
Austin Community College District will always follow the law. The College continues to consult with its legal counsel to ensure full compliance and understanding. Our focus remains on ensuring students have the support they need to succeed, strengthening communities, and aligning work with the needs of today’s workforce.
A powerpoint presentation available from the Texas Association of Community Colleges titled “Equity in Faculty Hiring” listed Scott as the presenter. It bragged about how ACC advanced “equity” in its faculty hiring process.
Scott lists her pronouns on LinkedIn.
In her profile, she wrote, “I hope that in all that I do as a leader I am centering our students and our social justice mission that is embodied in the power of educational access and achievement.”
In response to a request for comment, Scott stated, “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on the state’s General Education Curriculum Advisory Committee. I look forward to working with colleagues from across the state to ensure long-term success.”
As of publication, Scott had not replied to a follow-up question regarding her current stance on DEI.
Dr. Courtney Glazer
The University of North Texas is represented by Dr. Courtney Glazer. She serves as director of the core and “oversees all things core” in UNT’s curriculum.
In 2015, she delivered a peer-reviewed presentation to the National Student Teaching and Supervision Conference in West Chester, Pennsylvania entitled: “What every candidate needs to know about LGBT students. And how to talk about it.”
Glazer also lists her pronouns on LinkedIn:
While several universities’ nominees had documented histories of left-wing advocacy, UT-Austin was a notable exception. Its nominee, Dr. Scott Carrell, is the associate dean of the School of Civic Leadership, a highly publicized classical-education endeavor.
SB 37 explicitly requires the coordinating board to request candidate nominations from individual universities for this committee, but it places the final responsibility for committee composition upon the board. Thursday’s meeting agenda states that “Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) staff” requested the appointment of these and 11 other nominees.
A representative for the coordinating board told Texas Scorecard that “nominees were selected based on their background, knowledge, and experience in general education and workforce education and preparedness.”
A question about why these nominations were part of the consent agenda was not answered.
Regarding individuals repenting of their commitments to DEI, Dr. Scott Yenor, a Heritage Foundation scholar, previously stated that people can, and often do. “But the repentance must be public, and it must burn the boats as far as returning to DEI.”
Neither the University of North Texas nor Texas A&M responded to requests for comment before publication.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate.
