Teaching and Education Research

PDF Download

"Phillips, an expert in race relations in Dallas, authored an open letter in the Dallas Morning News on behalf of a group of historians, calling for the removal of Confederate monuments in Dallas. In the letter, Phillips identified himself as a professor at Collin College. As a result, administrators summoned Phillips to a meeting and told him that the letter violated college policy because it "made the college look bad," and mentioned Phillips's affiliation with the college.

... in Sept. 2021, while teaching about the history of pandemics, Phillips discussed the harm caused by anti-mask advocacy groups during the 1918-19 flu pandemic and suggested that students consider wearing masks. Administrators summoned Phillips to yet another disciplinary meeting and told him that he should never mention masks to students again.

On Jan. 28, Collin College informed Phillips — who had then-recently been named "Educator of the Year" by the East Texas Historical Association — that his contract would not be renewed. Phillips also learned that the college's Council on Excellence, ​​a group of faculty members who evaluate faculty applying for new contracts, had approved him for a three-year contract extension. Nevertheless, Matkin and his administration chose to disregard the recommendation of their faculty and substitute their own unconstitutional motives to terminate Phillips…."