Image reading: Committee Members: Thank you very much for allowing my written testimony against HB2348 My name is Daniel A. Hoyt, and I am a professor at Kansas State University and the president of the Kansas State Chapter of AAUP. Although I work at Kansas State, I represent only myself in this testimony. I write against HB2348, which would do serious harm to college students throughout Kansas, to the reputation of Kansas, and to the businesses and industry of our state: i i. The bill, as proposed, would remove property interests and rights of faculty members that courts have consistently ruled are covered by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the due process rights granted therein. Tenure does not come with blanket protections, and indeed faculty already can be and are removed for “due cause.” This bill weakens professors’ ability to do their jobs. ii ii. The Kansas State University Faculty Handbook clearly state the purpose of, especially the rights that HB 2348 would take away: “Purpose of tenure. The university uses a selective process in awarding tenure to secure a faculty of the highest possible caliber. To be tenured, faculty members must be experts in their chosen fields, and must have full academic freedom in pursuit of ideas or inquiries without fear of censure or retribution.” HB 2348 eviscerates the faculty’s freedom to do their work without censorship. iii iii. This bill, if passed, would strip the property rights of thousands of faculty members across Kansas; this action would remove these rights without compensation or hearing. This bill would have drastic and far-reaching deleterious effects on the state of Kansas. Just this morning, Kansas State announced that 96 percent of graduates are either employed or continuing their education. Fifty-seven percent are working in Kansas. Kansas State’s Land Grant and educational mission are working. We need more support and funding, not political attacks on faculty. Hollowing out…
Here's my testimony speaking out against HB2348 and the damage it would do to Kansas' college students, to the state's businesses and industries. Gutting tenure hurts our students, our businesses, and our reputation. #Kansas #StopHB2348
