Klinker stands with Purdue Faculty, worries about SB 202 repercussions

Today, Feb. 14, the House Education Committee heard hours of testimony regarding Senate Bill 202. The bill – authored by State Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette) – reshapes tenure and promotion policies and requires public universities to factor so-called “intellectual diversity” into faculty reviews, tenure considerations and student recruitment policies. Leadership from Indiana’s leading universities believe the bill will be an overwhelming detriment to workforce recruitment and retention of present faculties. 

State Rep. Sheila Klinker (D-Lafayette) released the following statement:

“This bill will be detrimental to keeping our good faculty at Indiana’s institutions of higher education. Indiana is home to some of the most successful and innovative institutions in our country. In 2023, Purdue was ranked as one of our top 10 public universities in the U.S., and this is largely due to our outstanding faculty. Our professors and our educators are the essence of our institutions. It is due to the fact that our best and brightest professors choose to move to Indiana and share their expertise with our young students. 

“Many in the Tippecanoe County community have shared their fears – including some Purdue leadership. By changing tenure policies and reporting requirements, professors will mark our universities off their list of potential employers. SB 202 will inhibit our ability to recruit academic talent since Indiana will have some of the strictest requirements in the country.  I fear this legislation will have a long-term, negative impact on our universities.”