DEFENDANTS LILLIAN MILLS, ETHAN BURRIS AND CLEMENS SIALM

RESPONSE: Defendants admit that Dean Mills is the Dean of the McCombs School and that she is sued in her official capacity, but any such “power and control” as alleged is limited, inter alia, due to the tenured status of Professor Lowery’s position at the University, so Defendants otherwise deny the allegations in this paragraph. [...] Defendants’ Original Answer and Affirmative Defenses Page 2 of 28 37572192 Case 1:23-cv-00129-DAE Document 56 Filed 09/26/23 Page 3 of 28 RESPONSE: Defendants admit that Professor Titman was the Chair of the Department of Finance at the McCombs School until September 1, 2023, and that he was sued in his official capacity, and otherwise deny the allegations in this paragraph. [...] As to the rest of the statement, Defendants lack knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the truth of these allegations, which are therefore denied. [...] In addition, or in the alternative, Lowery also has a right to engage in the speech at issue in this case as part of his right to academic freedom and as a participant in the dialogue about university affairs. [...] Lowery has an intention to engage in future public criticism of the UT Administration, its DEI policies, its handling of the Liberty Institute, and its misuse of public funds for ideological purposes; as well as criticizing the Sustainability Institute and its activities; and the general lack of viewpoint diversity on the UT campus.