Well, break out the Dr. Thunder and some overpriced tapas, because Texas Tech is finally in the Top 5 of something that isn’t “Most Chlamydia Cases per Capita” or “Most Dust Storms Survived by a Single Corolla.” According to the Fulbright Association’s 2025 numbers, TTU is tied for 5th in the nation for the highest number of faculty Fulbright Scholars. We’re officially an R1 Research Powerhouse, which is academic speak for “we have a lot of really smart people here that the state government is currently trying to lobotomize.”
Of course, in typical Lubbock fashion, having world-class expertise is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Professor Sara Spurgeon recently took to the digital streets to remind everyone that earning a Ph.D. involves years of grueling exams, peer-reviewed “gold standard” research, and international accolades—only for all that effort to be overridden by a handful of “non-experts” with political axes to grind. Apparently, six years of post-grad study and a double-blind peer-reviewed portfolio are no match for a politician who spent twenty minutes getting angry at a Facebook meme.
The irony is thicker than the grease on a Spanky’s fried cheese stick. Tech fights tooth and nail to maintain its “Research 1” status so it can brag to donors and recruit students, yet the administration and state leadership seem hell-bent on treating that same expertise like a suggestion at a drive-thru. It turns out you can be an internationally recognized expert in your field, but if your research doesn’t fit the current political vibe of the South Plains, your syllabus is basically “optional reading” for the censorship committee.
So, congratulations to our Top 5 Fulbright Scholars! You’ve proven to the world that you are the best of the best. Now, please sit down and be quiet while someone who barely passed Intro to Gov explains to you which parts of your expertise are “too spicy” for the local palate.
If we’re going to pay “good money” for an elite R1 education only to have the curriculum curated by political influencers, couldn’t we save a few thousand bucks and just get our degrees from a YouTube comment section?