reading list. The regents deemed the work subversive and perverted. Since the selection had been a committee decision no one was fired, but Rainey was outraged at what he believed to be a witch-hunt. All this, along with the fact that he tried to move the Medical Branch from Galveston to Austin a couple years earlier, caused the board to fire him on November 1, 1944, without citing any reason. After the firing, 8,000 students went on strike and protested at the university and at the state capitol. Less than three months after Rainey's firing, the governor appointed new board members. While the new members increased funding for social science and rehired the aforementioned fired professors, they did not re-hire Rainey to his prior position as a professor of education. Several organizations, including the American Association of University Professors, the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, and Phi Beta Kappa, reprimanded the university for firing Rainey. The censure by the American Association of University Professors lasted nine years, until the organization was convinced that the regents changed their policies. Later career In 1946, he ran for the Democratic Primary for Governor of Texas, but lost in the primary to Beauford H. Jester, who eventually was elected governor. After his defeat, he left Texas entirely and became president of Stephens College in Missouri, then a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. Later life and death After his retirement, he stayed in Boulder, where he died in 1985. Legacy Despite the controversy and eventual firing, he is a symbol for academic freedom, even to this day, according to the University of Texas' website. He also is believed to be the 1st candidate for a statewide office in Texas supported by labor unions and minorities. Rainey has received numerous honors and awards, including the Robert L. Stearns Award and the outstanding professor award from the University of Colorado, as well as receiving an honorary doctorate, the founders medal, the distinguished alumnus award from Austin College. He also was elected to their athletic hall of fame and an award was named after him. In 1995 the University of Texas renamed its Music Building "Homer Rainey Hall" in his honor. See also Minnie Fisher Cunningham References External links Homer Price Rainey Papers at the State Historical Society of Missouri Homer Price Rainey Biography in the Handbook of Texas 1896 births 1985 deaths Presidents