Faculty members condemned The University of Alabama’s shuttering of two student magazines and called for greater transparency and a larger role in University decision-making in statements published in January.
The Faculty Senate published two versions of its statement on Jan. 22 — one from the Steering Committee, passed unanimously Jan. 13, and one from the overall Senate, passed 55-15 with nine abstentions. Another faculty group, the UA chapter of the American Association of University Professors, responded Jan. 29 with its own statement calling for faculty and students to have more say in University decisions.
The statement passed by the Faculty Senate Steering Committee said the committee “stands ready to work with the University’s Administration, Office of Counsel, and alumni to identify a path by which these publications can be reinstated or otherwise incorporated into new efforts.”
The version passed by the overall Senate ends more forcefully, saying the Senate “demands” the publications’ immediate reinstatement.
“In my recollection, this is the strongest statement that the faculty senate has ever made directly to administration, a performative but important line in the sand,” John Petrovic, a senator for the College of Education and a professor of educational leadership and foundations of education, said in an email.
Both Faculty Senate statements “condemn” the magazines’ closure and question the rationale for the decision.
“Of immediate concern to faculty is a chronic lack of transparency by The University: no clear grounds for silencing the two student magazines have been provided, leaving the University community to interpret this as an act of anticipatory obedience,” both statements read.
Vice President for Student Life Steven Hood said the publications were shut down in compliance with a July 29 memo from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. The memo to federal agencies provided “non-binding suggestions” to help federal funds recipients comply with antidiscrimination laws. One recommendation concerned “unlawful proxies,” or intentionally using “ostensibly neutral criteria” as substitutes for protected characteristics.
The two publications, Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six, were aimed toward women and Black students, respectively, which Hood said made them “unlawful proxies.” Both publications were open to all students and hired students outside of their target audiences.
Copies of Nineteen Fifty-Six and Alice Magazine lay in a stack, photographed Dec. 3, 2025. CW / Oswin ColleyThe Faculty Senate statements say the University’s actions posed a “grave threat” to the freedom of speech and academic freedom. Experts said the University violated the First Amendment in shutting down the magazines, and recent developments in a lawsuit against the Department of Education have also called into question the University’s rationale.
“It’s a slippery slope towards what faculty can research and where faculty can publish,” said Matthew Hudnall, president of the Faculty Senate and an associate professor of management information systems. He said he wanted to issue a statement to “make a stand and support students” but also highlight potential threats to academic freedom.
Hudnall said the Steering Committee’s statement concludes more softly because it had to broadly represent the Faculty Senate. However, he said he voted against the full Senate statement because he thought it was unlikely that the University would reinstate the magazines and that the Steering Committee’s statement had a better chance of yielding “tangible results.”
To Sara McDaniel, president of AAUP and a professor of special education, the magazines’ closure was indicative of a larger problem with University decision making.
“It’s just this trend that we’ve seen a lot of where decisions are made for us and not with us. And that pattern is very troubling, and it looks like it’s leading towards shutting down faculty voice, even student voice and perspective,” McDaniel said.
The AAUP statement said its members have faced “momentous and deleterious decisions made about fundamental aspects of our jobs” without faculty input. It lists examples, including required word changes on syllabi, the elimination of classes and faculty work being removed from public presence.
In January 2025, three UA professors sued the UA System Board of Trustees and Gov. Kay Ivey over their implementation of a 2024 state law that restricts teaching of certain “divisive concepts” in classrooms. The lawsuit alleged the three professors had received threats of disciplinary action, or feared they could be punished, if they did not alter their curriculum to remove certain viewpoints to comply with the law.
The Trump administration has also sought to prohibit “impermissible” diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools, threatening to revoke federal funding if schools don’t comply.
“Increasingly, because of various legislative acts and other political machinations, faculty around the country are being told what they can or cannot teach and what they can or cannot say in class. In many cases, not abiding by these decrees has led to sanctions,” Petrovic said. He added that this has led faculty members to be “on-edge” and self-censor.
“It’s just a really tough time right now, and then we just sit back without any participation in the process, just wondering what else could fall apart for our roles as faculty members,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel, center, and other members of AAUP celebrate the establishment of the UA chapter at an induction ceremony on Nov. 3, 2025. CW / Oswin ColleyAlex House, associate director of communications for the University, said leadership gathers feedback on “executing the University’s mission” from faculty, staff and student governance groups, and that UA President Peter Mohler recently spoke at a Faculty Senate meeting to answer questions and “emphasize the importance of their input.”
“Faculty are the heart of UA’s academic experience, and their voices are essential,” House said.
Hudnall said Lesley Reid, the interim University provost, has agreed to meet with an ad hoc task force of AAUP and Faculty Senate members about new laws affecting faculty and the University’s interpretation of those laws, though the task force has not yet formed. Reid did not respond to a request for an interview.
Going forward, Hudnall said he wants the University to get more student and faculty input.
“Decisions made in a vacuum, with limited University personnel and legal counsel, just brings up a lot of questions about how and why those decisions are made,” Hudnall said.
To help get more faculty input on potential policy changes, McDaniel suggested making the task force meetings permanent, surveying faculty by email or creating focus groups.
“If the administration wanted to help with faculty morale and faculty retention, this would be a really good and easy strategy,” she said.
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