At ALEC, Ron DeSantis dismisses faculty turnover at New College of Florida

Share
New College of Florida SRQ
New College of Florida in Sarasota. By Seán Kinane/WMNF News (Apr. 2023).

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday shrugged off recent reports about high faculty turnover at New College of Florida, as the governor and other conservative leaders have sought to remake the small liberal arts school in Sarasota.

During a speech at an American Legislative Exchange Council meeting in Orlando, DeSantis addressed higher-education changes such as efforts to rid state colleges and universities of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

DeSantis said “we’ve seen a flood of applications coming in” amid the changes. He pointed to New College, which has been filling positions that account for nearly a third of the school’s faculty.

DeSantis appointed a slate of conservative members to the school’s Board of Trustees early this year.

“The media will say, ‘Oh, some of these professors are leaving, like New College. Like, isn’t that bad? Is that a brain drain?’ Well, you know, if you’re a professor in like, you know, Marxist studies, that’s not a loss for Florida if you’re going on, and trust me, I’m totally good with that,” said DeSantis, who has made education issues a pillar of his 2024 presidential campaign.

The issue of New College faculty turnover was discussed during a July 17 Board of Trustees meeting. The school was in the process of filling 36 faculty positions ahead of the fall semester, which starts Aug. 28.

At the time, school officials reported having signed offer letters for 15 incoming visiting faculty members.

After DeSantis’ appointments to the board early this year, New College trustees ousted former school President Patricia Okker and replaced her on an interim basis with Richard Corcoran, a former Republican House speaker and state education commissioner.

©2023 The News Service of Florida

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

Richard Corcoran
New College alumni group ‘appalled’ at recent school controversies

Listen: New College of Florida, the small Sarasota school that...

The Scoop: Fri. May 23, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

WMNF headlines including hurricane season, Tampa protests, Pine Island Preserve...

COVID-19 closures
Gulfport bans beach smoking

The Gulfport beach ban prohibits cigarettes and other tobacco products,...

Ahead of the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, Tampa protestors prepare to rally again

Listen: This weekend will mark the fifth anniversary of the...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

The 70's Show
The 70's Show