Hey Montgomery: Let faculty do their job: op-ed

This is a guest opinion column

Significant changes are afoot at Alabama’s public universities this fall. And no, we’re not talking about the latest first-year head football coach or the most recent to appear on the hot seat. On October 1, 2026, Ala. Code §§ 16-5A-20 through 16-5A-80 went into effect which significantly changes how universities operate and not for the better. At Auburn, Jax State and the University of South Alabama, it already has. Faculty senates at those institutions–representative bodies that serve as the collective faculty voice in university decision-making–have been dissolved. At Auburn, university trustees have made unilateral curriculum changes. This means the people closest to the classroom, and to the learning experience, have been cut out of decisions about how to best educate thousands of Alabama students. This may not seem like a big deal to most Alabamians. But current and future students, parents, and alumni of Alabama’s public institutions should pay close attention to these changes, as they have significant short and long-term consequences for the universities they love.