AUSTIN — Despite a protest letter signed by upwards of 90 University of North Texas faculty members, the namesake of the speaker series that’s slated to bring Donald Trump Jr. to Dallas next month isn’t fazed by the blowback.

“I could care less what those faculty members thought,” Ernie Kuehne said in a Wednesday telephone interview. “They obviously don’t believe in free speech.”

Word that the president’s son would receive $100,000 for a talk as part of the Kuehne Speaker Series prompted an open letter in which those who signed professed “profound shock, dismay and embarrassment that the university we are so proud to serve would stoop to invite Donald Trump Jr. to speak in North Texas under UNT’s auspices.”

The Trump appearance is one of several recent cases — the cancellation of Chelsea Manning’s fellowship at Harvard, for instance, and Texas A&M University’s rule change to block a white nationalist speaker — in which schools have become embroiled in debate over connections of one sort or another to controversial figures.

But Kuehne, an attorney, UNT graduate and president and board chairman of Kuehne Oil Co., said that unlike others, “we are not going to back down.”

The faculty letter, which called for UNT to rescind the invitation, questioned whether Trump has the sort of expertise expected of Kuehne speakers.

The Kuehne “is a series supported by donors and sponsors with the aim of presenting timely and stimulating perspectives on our world as it pertains to national security, our economy, and topics that are of interest to the university’s many and varied communities,” Kelley Reese, a UNT spokesperson wrote in an email.

According to the faculty letter, “Mr. Trump has not had life experiences that rise to this level; he was born wealthy and hired by his father to work for a family business. He certainly has not expressed ideas that rise to this level, except as negative examples of bigotry and anti-intellectualism.

“His only nationally relevant actions have served to embolden the ‘alt-right’ on our campus and beyond via social media, and his misbegotten foray into global affairs is currently under investigation by a special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice. That anyone associated with our university would choose to associate with Mr. Trump shows distressingly poor judgment.”

T. David Mason, Regents Professor of Political Science at UNT, also objected to the Trump appearance.

“I don’t think UNT should be paying speaker fees to someone who is under criminal investigation to give a speech at UNT, regardless of whether or not his education and experience provide any reason to think he might have something to say that would be of interest to a college audience,” Mason wrote in an email. “Besides, the price of a ticket to one of these lectures makes them prohibitively expensive for faculty, staff, and students.”

Individual seats are not available for purchase; table sponsorships cost $5,000 to $100,000 for the 2017-18 season.

Kuehne said that Trump is “a person that would appeal to certain people who buy tables.”

The series has raised $1.65 million to support student scholarships.

“This fall, the fund, which functions as an endowment, will help support five National Merit Scholars and additional scholars in future years,” Reese said in an email. “Starting this year, the Kuehne Speaker Series is contributing a total of $50,000 toward the scholarships for scholars.”

Faculty critics expressed concerns about how speakers are selected, but a board has been created to oversee the series’ direction.

“The first meeting was held Sept. 20 and at that meeting, the board decided to seek input from UNT deans and other college leadership about speakers of interest who would attract sponsors and further support the goal of raising money for scholarships,” Reese’s email said.

Kuehne, a professed political independent who said the only financial contribution he’s ever made in a presidential election was to Bill Clinton, hopes to continue attracting notable speakers.

“The university has benefitted greatly from the series,” said Kuehne, who lives in the Fort Worth suburb of Westlake. “You’d be surprised at some the speakers we’re trying to get.”

While he said that donors are typically “center right,” speakers have made remarks that might not align with audience members’ political vies.

Charles Gasparino, a senior correspondent for FOX Business Network, in a Kuehne speech characterized President Donald Trump as “crazy,” Kuehne said.

“We’re trying to get Michelle Obama,” Kuehne said, and bring Chelsea Clinton to speak to students. “We don’t restrict these people.”

John Austin covers the Texas Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach him at jaustin@cnhi.com