Richard Corcoran clears the final confirmation to stay New College of Florida president

Share
Richard Corcoran
Richard Corcoran speaks to press after addressing the Tiger Bay Club in West Tampa // Chris Young /WMNF News, 9/15/23

©2023 The News Service of Florida

About nine months after Richard Corcoran took over at New College of Florida, state higher-education officials on Thursday confirmed Corcoran as the Sarasota liberal-arts college’s president.

The New College Board of Trustees last month approved a five-year contract for Corcoran that could see the former state House speaker and state Education Commissioner earn up to $1.3 million per year in salary and benefits.

The state university system’s Board of Governors on Thursday gave Corcoran, who was tapped as interim president earlier this year, the final go-ahead for the presidential post.

Since taking the helm in February, Corcoran has overseen sweeping changes at New College that have included the creation of athletic teams and the elimination of an office that dealt with diversity, equity and inclusion issues.

The changes to New College have been facilitated by the school’s Board of Trustees, which was revamped by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January through a slate of conservative appointees.

In remarks after being confirmed by the Board of Governors Thursday, Corcoran indicated that more work is needed to carry out the remaking of New College that DeSantis set in motion.

“We know we’ve got a heavy hill to climb. We intend to. And hopefully, in short order we will be able to report back the tremendous resurgence of the legacy of New College,” Corcoran said.

Also during Thursday’s meeting, the Board of Governors reappointed University of West Florida President Martha Saunders to continue as head of the Pensacola school through the end of 2024.

Saunders has led UWF since 2017.

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  • (will not be published)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

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...

2025 Hurricane Season Outlook FPREN
The National Hurricane Center predicts above-average activity this 2025 hurricane season

National Hurricane Center: 2025 expected above-average activity; 13-19 named tropical...

The Scoop: Thur. May 22, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

WMNF headlines including bear hunting, book removal from schools, children's...

education
Ron DeSantis signs a bill addressing training for school security guards and other measures

The bill requires that school security guard training be conducted...

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'.

Revenge of the Synth
Revenge of the Synth