Use your personal email address (not your @txstate.edu email!)
John Hayek, Vice Chancellor for Academic and Health Affairs
John.Hayek@TSUS.edu
(512) 463-7281
Ashley Spicer-Runnels, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic and Health Affairs
Ashley.SpicerRunnels@TSUS.edu
(512) 463-1887
Sample Email:
Subject: Urgent Concern: Free Speech Suppression and Leadership Failures at Texas State University
Dear Members of the Board of Regents,
I am writing in my personal capacity to express alarm over the repeated suppression of free speech at Texas State University and the profound harm this is causing to our faculty, students, and institutional reputation. High-profile cases, including those of Dr. Tom Alter, Devion Canty Jr., and Katrina Meadors, demonstrate a troubling pattern in which faculty, staff, and students are disciplined or terminated for exercising their rights to free expression.
Such decisions not only embarrass the university publicly but also signal to current and prospective faculty that their academic freedom is not secure. This is a direct threat to our ability to recruit and retain top scholars, undermining Texas State’s aspiration to achieve R1 status and weakening the research culture essential to that goal.
The pattern of punishing faculty, staff, and students is eroding trust in university leadership. The institutional damage is compounded by the perception that Texas State President Kelly Damphousse prioritizes political pressure over integrity, due process, and the standards expected of a university leader.
I urge the Board of Regents to take immediate action to:
Reinstate Dr. Tom Alter immediately.
Reassess the leadership of President Damphousse, whose repeated poor judgment has created legal, ethical, and reputational liabilities for the university.
Implement clear policies guaranteeing the protection of free speech, academic freedom, and due process for all faculty, staff, and students.
Texas State University has the potential to be a leading institution of higher education, but that requires leaders who are up to the task. Failure to act now risks continued loss of talented faculty, alienation of students, and long-term damage to our reputation and research ambitions.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I respectfully request that the Board act decisively to uphold the values of free speech and institutional integrity at Texas State University.
Sincerely,
[your name]