UH leaders defend course review stemming from Senate Bill 37

University of Houston administrators say the review process protects faculty academic freedom despite concerns from some professors.

Mar. 12, 2026 at 10:41pm

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The University of Houston System's general counsel defended the dual course reviews underway across UH campuses, telling the Board of Regents that top administrators chose an approach that would protect faculty members' academic freedom. UH is among the state universities reviewing their course catalogs in response to GOP lawmakers' allegations that left-leaning faculty are pushing "ideology" on students. Many faculty deny that charge and say their schools have instead over-complied with a state law known as Senate Bill 37.

Why it matters

This course review process at UH is part of a broader debate in Texas over academic freedom, the role of politics in higher education, and how universities should balance transparency and faculty autonomy. The outcome could set precedents for how public universities in the state handle curriculum and instruction going forward.

The details

Senate Bill 37 requires public universities to review their core curricula every five years. In November, UH President Khator announced a two-part review process - one for SB37 and a second that "extends the spirit of that review" to all courses. In the second review, faculty were asked to ensure their courses were exposing students to varying viewpoints and not "indoctrinating" them. Some faculty grew concerned about a checklist offering guidance for the self-review, which asked professors to intentionally pair contrasting perspectives "where appropriate." UH administrators said the checklist was not official and came from a faculty-led group, but a group of critical faculty have not been able to trace its origins.

  • In November 2025, UH President Khator announced the two-part course review process.
  • The SB37 review must be completed and reported to the state by January 2027.

The players

Dona Cornell

The University of Houston System's general counsel who defended the course review process.

Renu Khator

The president of the University of Houston who announced the two-part course review process in November 2025.

Elena Grigorenko

The Faculty Council Presiding Officer at the University of Houston who acknowledged not all 3,000 faculty are in agreement about the course review process.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“Each of these campuses has taken very seriously the implementation of SB 37. There's been a lot of noise around the campuses among different faculty, questioning whether or not there is integrity and transparency in the process and whether we were following the law. And I want to tell you, from my perspective, that we are following the law and we are doing the right thing.”

— Dona Cornell, General Counsel, University of Houston System (Houston Chronicle)

“To be clear, the university imposed no ideological pledges and no requirement that faculty adopt particular pedagogical practices. Faculty remain free to teach controversial material, to organize courses around particular scholarly frameworks and to advance recent academic interpretation, so long as students are free to question.”

— Dona Cornell, General Counsel, University of Houston System (Houston Chronicle)

“We're not at synergy yet, but we're working hard.”

— Elena Grigorenko, Faculty Council Presiding Officer, University of Houston (Houston Chronicle)

What’s next

The University of Houston System must complete the SB37 review and report the findings to the state by January 2027.

The takeaway

The course review process at the University of Houston highlights the ongoing tensions between academic freedom, political influence, and transparency in higher education in Texas. While UH administrators say they are following the law and protecting faculty autonomy, some professors remain concerned about the review's potential impact on curriculum and instruction.