(Texas Scorecard) – A new course approved by the Texas A&M Faculty Senate highlights the challenges posed by the so-called “shared governance” model of higher education.
According to a Texas A&M memo obtained by The Battalion, on December 9, 2024, the faculty senate approved a package of courses for the 2025-26 academic year. This bundle included a philosophy class called Climate Ethics.
According to a separate internal email obtained by Texas Scorecard, the course is described as examining “ethical and value questions related to climate change and climate policy; moral responsibility for and theoretical approaches to climate change; climate justice; ethical analysis of mitigation, adaptation and geoengineering policies.”
This was an April 7, 2025 email from Rebecca Hutchinson, an academic advisor with the College of Arts & Sciences Environmental Programs. The email was a solicitation for students to sign up for the class.
“We need at least 10 students registered for the course in order to be able to teach it this fall, so if you are interested, please consider registering for it,” Hutchinson wrote.
This development comes as climate change advocacy has grown in College Station. In 2023, the faculty adopted a statement blaming humans for the alleged phenomenon and endorsing the goals of the Paris Climate Accord. University researchers have also partnered with left-wing advocacy groups to advance climate change narratives.
This move is the latest volley from the faculty senate in an ongoing conflict with the Texas A&M University System’s Board of Regents.
In November 2024, regents voted to end an LGBTQ minor and other low-performing majors.
Approval of a climate change course shortly after the regents’ decision invites additional questions about the degree to which the A&M faculty senate continues to defy the spirit of regental guidance.
This is the latest example highlighting the effects of the philosophy of “shared governance,” in which regents share power with instructors through a faculty senate elected by faculty members.
Regents are accountable to Texans through the governor and state senate, who appoint and confirm them, respectively. Faculty senates enjoy no such accountability.
This is likely only one example of what is occurring at many universities in Texas.
Texas A&M did not respond to a request for comment.