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A survey of higher education faculty in the South found professors are concerned about the political environment around higher education, with some fearing for their physical safety.

The annual survey from the American Association of University Professors included an open-ended question that allowed faculty to detail the problems they’re facing. Compared with previous years, there was a significant spike in faculty scared not only for their careers but also for their physical safety.

“I teach a subject that is now considered ‘controversial,’” a professor in North Carolina wrote. “As a result, I have had a non-student with a gun enter my classroom to intimidate me. I have received an email death threat from a student.”

The AAUP survey polls faculty at schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The association received about 2,700 responses, with 41 coming from Louisiana universities.

Across the nation, state leaders have put higher education under a microscope. The scrutiny has been particularly acute in conservative Southern states, where changes to education laws have been extensive.

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