Amended and Endorsed by the Faculty Council
November 16, 2015
The Mission of The University of Texas at Austin is to achieve excellence in “undergraduate education, graduate education, research and public service [and to] contribute to the advancement of society through research, creative activity, scholarly inquiry and the development of new knowledge.” The Faculty Council asserts that the University cannot fulfill this mission if guns are allowed in educational facilities. We believe that by creating an uneasy and potentially hostile environment for intellectual inquiry, guns in educational spaces impede learning, honest evaluation, and academic freedom. Guns in campus buildings also jeopardize the quality and reputation of the University by hurting recruitment and retention of faculty, staff, and students. Therefore, the Faculty Council strongly opposes allowing guns in The University of Texas at Austin classrooms, laboratories, residence halls, university offices, and other spaces of education.
General Faculty and Faculty Council