Media & Resources

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Sarasota Magazine – November 22nd, 2023

Check Out the Winning Architectural Firm’s Approach to Repurposing New College’s I.M. Pei Dorms

Sarasota firm Sweet Sparkman Architecture & Interiors has been announced as the winner of the “Reimagining Pei” architectural competition led by New College of Florida and Architecture Sarasota, which aims to incorporate the east campus dorms into an athletic and recreational complex with retail and restaurants.  

The Chronicle – November 15th, 2023

Why is Stanley Fish Teaching at Florida’s New College?

An interview about politics, academic freedom, and “ideological odor.” 

Chronicle of Higher Education – November 14th, 2023

New College of Florida Seeks $400M for Conservative Transformation

The high-priced business plan emphasizes new facilities and academic programs, as well as athletics. Officials say the money is needed to reach state goals.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – November 13th, 2023

New College of Florida announces ‘Pathway to Teaching’ partnership with Manatee Schools

New College of Florida and the Manatee County School District announced Monday the launch of a program to help place students aspiring to be teachers into classrooms and give them a mentor to help navigate the process of becoming one.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – November 9th, 2023

Florida Board of Governors names new member to New College of Florida Board of Trustees

Patterson, a Sarasota resident, was the co-founder and chief operating officer of Ascend Wireless Networks and is a graduate of Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian college in Virginia. He ran for Sarasota City Commission's District 2 seat in 2020, receiving 380 votes.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – November 9th, 2023

New College of Florida asks state for almost half a billion dollars over next five years

New College of Florida President Richard Corcoran presented a business plan to Florida's university system Board of Governors on Wednesday that asks for almost half a billion dollars from the state over the next five years — a figure largely unseen by the small Sarasota liberal arts school.

WFLA – November 8th, 2023

‘Haven for Harvard refugees’: Free tuition offered to Harvard students who want to transfer to New College of Florida

New College of Florida President Richard Corcoran has declared the liberal arts school a “haven for Harvard refugees,” and is offering free tuition to students “facing intolerance or physical danger” at the Ivy League school.

The Capitolist – November 8th, 2023

Sticker shock: New College business plan calls for $600k per student to implement conservative vision

A highly-anticipated business plan presentation by New College of Florida (NCF), slated for Wednesday afternoon, will include a request that state lawmakers pony up $420 million in direct and indirect state investment to help sustain an already-underway conservative makeover of the school, according to documents submitted to the Board of Governors before the meeting.

Teen Vogue – November 7th, 2023

New College in Exile: Hampshire College

After a hostile takeover by conservatives of Florida’s tiny public honors college, so many students sought to transfer, a Massachusetts college took on 35 this semester alone.

The Capitolist – November 5th, 2023

Budget hawks start to circle over New College of Florida’s fiscal-fantasy business plan

Pressure is mounting at New College of Florida in Sarasota, where a controversial new business plan is causing a stir among conservatives worried as much about budgetary discipline as they are about educational innovation. 

Daily Collegian – October 29th, 2023

Hampshire College offers admission to New College of Florida students

New College has a curriculum similar to Hampshire College. Students create their own concentration and receive narrative evaluations instead of grades. Hampshire put out an admission offer for New College students, and offered to match their tuition.

Tallahassee Democrat – October 23rd, 2023

Professors, students ask judge to temporarily block DeSantis' DEI funding ban

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights are being violated in a variety of ways. They accuse the law of being vague and overbroad. They say it’s "content based and viewpoint based censorship of speech in violation of the First Amendment.”

Florida Phoenix – October 23rd, 2023

U.S. judge in academic-freedom case promises speedy ruling; could block higher ed law

A legal challenge to a Florida law forbidding university classes that “distort” history or programs that foster diversity may turn on whether it has actually harmed the group of professors, students, and others behind their lawsuit.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 20th, 2023

New College of Florida board approves bigger contract with Richard Corcoran

The contract makes Corcoran among the highest-paid university presidents in Florida's state university system, despite New College of Florida being the state's smallest public college.

Orlando Sentinel – October 20th, 2023

DeSantis ally Corcoran gets $1.3 million contract as New College president

New College of Florida President Richard Corcoran is set to earn up to $1.3 million per year in salary and benefits under a five-year contract approved Friday, making him one of the highest-paid public university leaders in Florida.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 19th, 2023

First Lady Casey DeSantis announces employment program with New College of Florida, DCF

DeSantis, whose husband was campaigning for president in South Carolina during the press conference, said New College would become the first state university to be an employment sponsor with Hope Florida, a program through the DCF that helps Floridians transition off of public assistance programs.

ABC Action News – October 19th, 2023

New College of Florida president's contract is unusually high, analysts say

New College of Florida may be the smallest college in the state’s public university system, but its newly minted president is on tap to become one of its highest-paid.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 13th, 2023

Officials detail plans for major land swap between New College and SRQ airport

A major land swap is in the works to avert a financial nightmare for New College of Florida that awaits at the end of a 100-year land lease agreement with the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 12th, 2023

New College of Florida dropout rate spikes, retention rate falls amid DeSantis' transition

New College of Florida lost more than twice the normal number of students it usually does between fall semesters this year, according to a report sent to faculty from the college's provost Wednesday.

Tampa Bay Times – October 10th, 2023

Richard Corcoran’s New College salary could get larger or stay the same

Either way, the new president will be paid more than many higher education leaders.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 5th, 2023

Florida education officials react to UF report that criticized New College transformation

Some top state higher-education officials on Wednesday responded to analyses by two unidentified University of Florida professors of a New College of Florida business plan. The business plan came amid a series of changes at New College, after Gov. Ron DeSantis early this year appointed a slate of conservative trustees to lead the Sarasota school.

WMNF – October 4th, 2023

“Students Against Facism in Education” protest New College of Florida’s new presidential pick

Former Republican House Speaker Richard Corcoran was chosen yesterday as New College of Florida’s permanent president after serving less than a year as interim president. The move further solidifies a veritable conservative grip on the traditionally liberal arts school as part of myriad of changes after Republican Governor Ron DeSantis appointed a majority of the Board of Trustees with conservative allies earlier this year, which ousted past president Patricia Okker, and replaced her promptly with Corcoran. Even before the decision was announced, dozens of students gathered on campus in protest of the decision.

The Nation – October 4th, 2023

How DeSantis Is Using Sports to Hijack a Florida College

The far-right extremists in charge of New College are recruiting baseball players to overhaul the ideology of the student body.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 3rd, 2023

New College of Florida trustees vote Richard Corcoran as permanent president

Richard Corcoran will be New College of Florida's permanent president, shedding his interim title following an overwhelming vote in his favor by the board of trustees Tuesday.

ABC Action News  – October 2nd, 2023

New communications chief at New College of Florida is out after just 2 months

Just two months after he was hired as part of the state’s controversial overhaul at New College of Florida, the school’s communications chief says he was fired.

SRQ Magazine – October 2nd, 2023

New College Sues Bard College Over Alt Effort

New College of Florida on Friday issued a cease-and-desist letter to Bard College, demanding it stop branding a new venture at AltNewCollege.org.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 2nd, 2023

New College of Florida expected to officially make Richard Corcoran president this week

New College of Florida's board of trustees is poised to select its next president at the upcoming meeting Oct. 3, according to the meeting's agenda, a decision that is widely expected to result in giving interim president Richard Corcoran the permanent title.

Ms. Magazine – October 2nd, 2023

New College of Florida Eliminates Gender Studies Program, Leaving Students in the Crossfire

“What is happening at New College can happen anywhere”—making gender studies and its study of power dynamics more necessary than ever, says Dr. Viki Peer. 

Florida Politics – September 30th, 2023

New College sends cease-and-desist to Bard College over ‘Alt New College’ effort

New College of Florida leaders have sent a cease-and-desist letter to an online effort featuring ex-professors who left the institution.

The legal move comes weeks after Bard College launched Alt New College, an “online institute to support the academic freedom of faculty and students following the hostile takeover of New College of Florida.”

Sarasota Herald Tribune – September 28, 2023

New College of Florida settles with U.S. Department of Education in civil rights probe

New College of Florida agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Education regarding a federal investigation into compliance with federal disability access laws, according to a release from the college Thursday.

WUSF Public Media – September 27th, 2023

New College of Florida alumni and supporters launch online learning platform as alternative to conservative makeover

New College of Florida alumni and supporters have launched an online learning platform called Alt New College.

Organizers say the project will feature free and subsidized lectures and courses in subjects that members of the college's new leadership have pulled back on.

The Guardian – September 26th, 2023

‘This is not a Trumpy, conservative education’: Florida’s controversial new SAT alternative

The Classic Learning Test (CLT) emphasizes a “classical” style of education, where students study great works throughout western civilization, including pieces by Plato, Shakespeare and Voltaire. It’s been called the “Christian-backed” SAT, which isn’t entirely incorrect, as before this month the test was only accepted in admissions to private, faith-based colleges.

neaToday – September 22nd, 2023

Why Didn’t Hugo Viera-Vargas Get Tenure?

The respected New College of Florida professor got caught up in DeSantis’ culture war.

New York Times – September 22nd, 2023

Sports Are In, Gender Studies Are Out at College Targeted by DeSantis

An influx of athletes is among many changes since Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida vowed to transform New College, a public institution, into a bastion of conservatism.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – September 18th, 2023

New College of Florida plummets in national ranking amid DeSantis conservative overhaul

As New College of Florida undergoes a conservative transformation, the small public liberal arts honors school saw a dramatic drop in its national ranking, according to a newly released list.

WUSF – September 16th, 2023

Richard Corcoran defends the conservative direction of New College at Tiger Bay Club event

Richard Corcoran, the former state lawmaker turned interim president for New College of Florida, defended the conservative direction the small liberal arts Sarasota school at an event for the Tampa Tiger Bay Club on Friday.

He made his case to be named the school's president permanently, even as he faced questions from the crowd, including a number of concerned parents of students and former students.

PEN America – September 15th, 2023

PEN America is Among Partners of New “Alt New College” in Response to Hostile Takeover of Fl College

In light of the unprecedented hostile takeover of New College of Florida (NCF) and resulting limits on academic expression in Florida, members of the New College community have announced the creation of “Alt New College,” (https://www.altnewcollege.org/) whose mission it is to bring leading thinkers and educators, including former NCF faculty, to teach free and subsidized lectures, tutorials and short courses and for-credit courses to support the academic freedom of students who have been put in the middle of a political crossfire by partisan politicians.  

Sarasota Herald Tribune – September 15th, 2023

New College of Florida President Corcoran downplays federal civil rights investigation

Corcoran downplayed the investigation, calling it a "quote-unquote investigation, not an investigation," despite the DOE's letter to Corcoran saying it was "opening this disability discrimination allegation for investigation."

Florida Phoenix – September 15th, 2023

Richard Corcoran says he’s never compared New College of Florida to Hillsdale College

Although Richard Corcoran says he wants to transform New College of Florida into a classical liberal arts institution, he emphasized on Friday that he himself has never said that his goal is to remake the school in the image of Hillsdale College, the small Christian school in Michigan that has been connected to Republican politics.

Chronicle – September 15th, 2023

Why Scholars Are Creating an ‘Alt New College’

As New College of Florida continues to move in a different ideological direction, former students and faculty members are building what they see as an educational resistance.

They have joined national and international free-speech and education groups to form “Alt New College,” a network of online courses for students who remain at the revamped New College and, as critics see it, face limits on what they can learn and say.

MSNBC – September 14th, 2023

The feds are probing DeSantis’ favorite propaganda hub

New College of Florida, a school that Gov. Ron DeSantis has tried to transform into a bastion of right-wing thought, is facing a federal civil rights probe.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – September 13th, 2023

New College: What we know about the federal civil rights investigation

The federal investigation came after two discrimination complaints filed to the DOE. The DOE sent a letter to Interim President Richard Corcoran last week that involves alleged disability discrimination regarding the school's website, a complaint filed Aug. 24, according to a department spokesperson.

CNN – September 12, 2023

New College of Florida under investigation for alleged civil rights violation

The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights said it plans to investigate “whether the College, on the basis of disability, excluded qualified persons with disabilities from participation in, denied them the benefits of, or otherwise subjected them to discrimination in its programs, activities, aids, benefits, or services,” attorney David Kutch with the Office of Civil Rights, wrote.

USA Today – September 9th, 2023

After conservative overhaul, New College of Florida faces federal civil rights investigation

The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into New College of Florida’s trustees and administration following a civil rights complaint filed on Aug. 22, according to a letter sent Friday from the agency to college's president.

CNN – September 8th, 2023

Board of Governors for Florida’s public universities votes to approve new CLT college entrance exam

Florida’s Board of Governors voted Friday to approve the use of results from the Classic Learning Test, or CLT, in college admissions. The approval makes Florida the first state university system to accept the SAT and ACT alternative, the New York Times reported.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – September 8th, 2023

Civil rights complaint filed with U.S. Justice, Education against New College board, admin

A civil rights complaint against New College of Florida's trustees and administration was filed to the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education on Aug. 22, according to documents obtained by the Herald-Tribune.

ABC Action News – September 6th, 2023

New College’s interim president talks about school’s future, defends state’s controversial takeover

It took six months before Richard Corcoran agreed to sit down and talk about the state’s controversial revamp of New College. “New College lost its way and went off center and got very traditionally left,” Corcoran said during a recent interview from campus.

Inside Higher Ed – September 5th, 2023

A New Home for New College of Florida Émigrés

When conservative leaders took over Florida’s only public liberal arts institution, Hampshire College officials knew they had to help. Now they’re welcoming the first cohort of New College defectors.

Time Magazine – August 30th, 2023

Christopher Rufo’s Alarming and Deceptive Crusade Against Public Universities

“Public universities,” Christopher Rufo wrote on August 11 on X (formerly Twitter), “are not a ‘free marketplace of ideas.’” 

This provocative statement doesn’t fully convey Rufo’s views on the subject; he’s noted elsewhere that universities should be an “environment of open, substantive debate.” But as a trustee at New College of Florida, Rufo has demonstrated the limits of his tolerance for ideas that differ from his own.

Alex Wagner Tonight, MSNBC – August 29th, 2023

‘Toxic’: Desantis’ push to transform university drives out students, faculty 

Less than a year after Ron DeSantis appointed a new board of trustees to remake New College of Florida in the image of DeSantis' 'war on woke' political stunt, nearly 40 faculty members have left the small school, along with many students, who the board is trying to replace with lower standards and athletic scholarships. 

Sarasota Herald Tribune – August 28th, 2023

New College: What students had to say on the first day of classes

Even with the $10,000 Presidential scholarship, Nilah Johnson, a first year at New College of Florida, said there’s a sense of anxiety hoping the college doesn’t fall apart. With all the changes, faculty departures and facilities issues, she said New College is on sensitive ground.

MSNBC – August 27th, 2023

New College of Florida's attack on gender studies gets 'classical liberal arts' all wrong

This is part of a bigger plan to instantiate the education of ignorance at an institutional level.

Sarasota Herald Tribune - August 23rd, 2023

Upperclassmen Move into Hotel Amid Flurry of Housing Changes

New College of Florida upperclassmen moved into the Hyatt Place hotel just east of the campus Wednesday morning amid a wave of housing assignment changes in the weeks before the first day of classes Aug. 28.

Tampa Bay Times – August 20th, 2023

At New College orientation, students express hope and hesitation

Following a year of drastic change, incoming students prepare for their first semester.

Fox 13 – August 20th, 2023

Over 200 New College of Florida students move into local hotels due to air quality concerns on-campus dorms

With the first day of classes just a week away, many New College of Florida students spent Sunday morning moving their belongings into their assigned dorms on campus, but some found themselves checking into hotels.

Ms. Magazine - August 19th, 2023

Key Gender Studies Staff Resign from New College of Florida, ‘The State Where Learning Goes to Die’

Nicholas L. Clarkson, former assistant professor of gender studies at New College of Florida, has announced his resignation from the school, which used to be known as the most progressive public college in the state. Clarkson was the only full-time gender studies professor at New College. “Gender studies offers the vocabulary, conceptual frameworks, and practice tolerating the discomfort of the unfamiliar that would help us all navigate change more gracefully. But that’s why you canceled it.” Read Clarkson’s powerful letter in full.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – August 14th, 2023

New College professors, students file lawsuit to block DeSantis' higher education law

A group formed to push back against Gov. Ron DeSantis' conservative takeover of New College of Florida has joined with professors and students at the college to file a lawsuit alleging a new law pushed by DeSantis violates free speech protections. The lawsuit seeks to have SB 266, signed into law by DeSantis during a press conference at New College in May, declared unconstitutional.

Them – August 14th, 2023

DeSantis-Appointed Board Abolishes the New College of Florida’s Gender Studies Major

The New College of Florida’s board of trustees — the majority of whom were appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — has voted to begin the process of abolishing the institution’s long-standing gender studies program. The move marks the latest in DeSantis’ ongoing fight against New College, formerly the most progressive public college in the state.

New York Magazine – August 11th, 2023

The Latest Battle in the Conservative War on the American Mind

When Ron DeSantis appointed six far-right trustees at the New College of Florida, he did so with destruction with mind. An inquisitive culture and quirky spirit once set the liberal-arts college apart from its peers, but what made it unique made it objectionable to the right. Now the college faces an involuntary transformation, and the latest casualty may be its gender-studies program.

Chronicle of Higher Education – August 10th, 2023

New College of Florida’s Board Starts to Dismantle Gender-Studies Program

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Sarasota Herald Tribune – August 10th, 2023

Christopher Rufo, New College board move to abolish longstanding gender studies program

New College of Florida's trustees voted to begin the process of abolishing the college's gender studies program. The action came at the board's meeting Thursday. The vote was 7-3 in favor of eliminating the program.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – August 10th, 2023

State drops charges against New College of Florida student accused of spitting on trustee

The State Attorney's office dropped misdemeanor battery charges against a New College of Florida student who was accused of spitting on Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist and one of the school's trustees.

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Tampa Bay Times– August 10th, 2023

Charges dropped against New College student accused of spitting on trustee

Orlando Weekly – August 7th, 2023

New College of Florida professor, faculty unions sue state over arbitration

The United Faculty of Florida, its New College chapter and professor Hugo Viera-Vargas filed a lawsuit Thursday in Leon County circuit court alleging the law violates collective-bargaining rights and unconstitutionally “impairs” an existing union contract.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – August 4th, 2023

New College professor who was denied tenure sues school's board of trustees

Faculty unions and a New College of Florida professor who was denied tenure have challenged the constitutionality of a new state law that did away with arbitration in university employment disputes.

Tampa Bay Times – August 1st, 2023

New College names 3 finalists for president, including Richard Corcoran

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Sarasota Herald Tribune – August 1st, 2023

Interim New College President Richard Corcoran finalist to fill job permanently

New College's presidential search committee picked Corcoran, University of Central Florida professor Tyler Fisher and former college president Robert Gervasi as the finalists and submitted their names to the college's board of trustees for consideration in an accelerated search process.

The Guardian – July 30th, 2023

‘I’m not wanted’: Florida universities hit by brain drain as academics flee

Ron DeSantis’s slew of laws attacking teaching of race and gender issues sees state’s colleges struggle to fill faculty posts

Sarasota Herald Tribune – July 27th, 2023

New College of Florida nets record number of new students, but at academic cost

Several admissions department officials expressed discomfort with the college's aggressive recruiting tactics.

Chronicle of Higher Education – July 27th, 2023

New College Says It’s Giving Staff Higher Pay for Hitting Enrollment Goals. Is That Illegal?

New College of Florida may have violated federal law by dangling the prospect of increased pay to admissions staff members if they recruited a larger-than-usual incoming class for the upcoming academic year, experts said on Thursday.

Tampa Bay Times – July 27th, 2023

Faculty turnover at New College ‘not a loss for Florida,’ DeSantis says

If departing professors were teaching “Marxist studies,” the governor said, “I’m totally good with that.”

MSNBC – July 24th, 2023

In Florida and Texas, we’re seeing the costs of the right-wing's war on higher ed

Conservative leaders are learning the hard lesson that their attempt to hurt professors will hurt students and their states at large.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – July 23rd

What happens to New College in a post-DeSantis Florida?

Sharon Landesman Ramey, a New College alum and former foundation board member, says New College faces a shaky future once Gov. Desantis moves on from his Florida governorship.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – July 19th, 2023

New College of Florida student pleads not guilty to battery charge against trustee Rufo

A New College of Florida student who was charged with misdemeanor battery by the state for an alleged spitting incident involving conservative activist and college Trustee Christopher Rufo has pleaded not guilty, according to court documents.

Tampa Bay Times – July 18th, 2023

As New College wrestles with decaying dorms, new students get best rooms

Instead of living in their original housing assignments, some returning students will be shifted into dorms with rampant mold and concerning structural problems identified by a consulting firm hired by the school. The May 22 report from Partner Engineering and Science Inc. said that two of the buildings to which students have been assigned — known as the Pei dorms — “should not be occupied in their current condition.” This shift is to make room for the new student athletes, who will be placed in the nicest, apartment-style dorms.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – July 18th

New College board considering hotels for student housing, dorm renovation amid mold issues

New College of Florida's trustees convened for a committee meeting Monday afternoon to discuss issues surrounding housing amid a record incoming group of students and mold problems in campus dorms. The board discussed using hotel rooms from a nearby Hilton on Tamiami Trail in Sarasota to accommodate a 150-bed shortfall as several student housing buildings are shut down due to renovations and mold issues making some buildings uninhabitable.

Tampa Bay Times — July 18th, 2023

At New College of Florida, a ‘ridiculously high’ number of faculty are gone

More than one-third of New College of Florida faculty will not be returning in the fall, according to Provost Bradley Thiessen, who called the 36 departures in a single year a “ridiculously high” number for a school with fewer than 100 full-time teachers.

88.5 WMNF – July 18th, 2023

This New College of Florida student is transferring out of state because the school kicked them out of medically necessary housing

WMNF spoke with Basil Pursley, who said: “After being kicked out of my medically necessary housing assignment, with no response from housing on how to fix it – I decided I was done” with New College of Florida and is transferring out of state.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – July 15th, 2023

New College pushes upperclassmen to dorms with mold issues amid influx of student-athletes

New College of Florida is shifting returning students into housing in buildings with mold problems identified by an outside consultant to make way for student-athletes and other incoming freshmen who are part of a conservative transformation of the school launched by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – July 12th, 2023

New College: More details in alleged spitting incident involving student and trustee Rufo

New College student Libby Harrity is scheduled to appear in court on July 27 on a battery charge for allegedly spitting on Board of Trustees member Christopher Rufo in May, according to a summons document. Rufo recently posted on Twitter about the charge, publicizing the student’s full name and date of birth to his +500,000 followers.  

Sarasota Herald Tribune – July 11th, 2023

State charges New College student with battery for allegedly spitting on trustee Rufo

State prosecutors in Sarasota County filed charges against a New College of Florida student who allegedly spat on Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist vocally critical of diversity policies and critical race theory who was appointed as one of the colleges new trustees appointed to help transform the public liberal arts program.

NPR – July 11th, 2023

Florida universities might be in a 'brain drain' following state's 'war on woke'

University leaders in Florida are growing increasingly concerned about losing staff. Their concern comes as the state’s Republican Gov. and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis continues his “war on woke” in the state, with colleges one of his preferred targets.

Tampa Bay Times – July 7th, 2023

New College will ask Florida for $2M to combat “cancel culture”

TALLAHASSEE — The New College of Florida Board of Trustees on Thursday moved forward with a plan to request $2 million from the state Legislature to set up a Freedom Institute aimed at combating “cancel culture” in higher education. The proposed institute would promote “tolerance of opposing views” and “engage such views in civil discourse,” according to a description of the institute included in the trustees’ meeting agenda.

Sarasota Herald Tribune - July 7th, 2023

New College of Florida Trustees OK request for $2 million for funding 'Freedom Institute'

New College of Florida's trustees approved a salary-plus-benefits range of up to $1 million for the president they intend to name later this summer, and agreed to ask state lawmakers for $2 million to establish a "Freedom Institute" at the small honors liberal arts college undergoing a dramatic makeover.

Herald Tribune - July 6th, 2023

New College ramps up search for president, approves salary range ahead of trustees meeting

Leaders at New College of Florida have ramped up the fast-paced search for a permanent president this week, reviewing a third-party market report laying out the salary range for the leader who will oversee the continuing conservative transformation of the liberal arts college.

WUSF Public Media - July 6th, 2023

New College approves a proposed pay range for its next president 

A 15-member committee signed off on a pay range $487,000 to $868,000 during a meeting Wednesday.

Chronicle of Higher Education – June 26th, 2023

Silence From State Officials on Florida’s New Anti-DEI Law Unnerves Critics, Employees

With just days left before a sweeping new anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion law [SB266] in Florida takes effect, government and college officials have been mum about how or when they plan to implement and comply with the law, causing widespread confusion and anxiety. 

Slate – June 25th, 2023

College Librarians in Florida Are Hoping for the Best, but Preparing for the Worst

Academic librarians react to SB266, including Helene Gold, who was fired from New College in late April. 

NPR, The Reveal - June 24th, 2023

The Culture War Goes to College 

In this episode of Reveal, NPR partners with freelance reporter and filmmaker Sam Greenspan, who is a graduate of New College, to examine the changes taking place there. Greenspan follows journalists at the Catalyst, the student newspaper, as they cover the rapid-fire changes that are throwing the future of the college into uncertainty. To close the show, host Al Letson interviews Democratic Florida Rep. Angie Nixon about her opposition to many of the governor’s recent policies and the effects she thinks they’ll have on students and educators in the state.

Chronicle of Higher Ed - June 22, 2023

Florida’s Governor Escalates a Yearslong Fight With College Accreditors

[DeSantis’] suit, filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, seeks to block federal officials from enforcing the standards that accreditors set for colleges to receive billions of dollars in student aid… The new lawsuit reflects that college accreditation has become a key battlefront for Republican politicians across the country who want to reshape higher education in their image, particularly as accreditors have come to favorably view diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Last month, DeSantis signed legislation outlawing diversity spending across his state’s public colleges.

WUSF - June 21, 2023

New College of Florida trustee saw an influx of cash to his foundation, according to a new report

Rufo was once a documentary filmmaker and has a foundation to support his work. … the nonprofit documentary foundation was generating between $80,000 to $400,000 a year depending on the workflow that was coming in around documentaries. But in 2021, that number spiked to almost $2 million. And this tracks with the political activities that Rufo started engaging in. 

Chronicle of Higher Ed - June 20, 2023

Are Other States Poaching Florida’s College Administrators?

Miriam Wallace — who is now off to an arts and sciences deanship at the University of Illinois at Springfield — is one of several senior administrators to leave Florida in recent months as Republican politicians try to impose a new vision on the state’s public colleges… Faculty in Florida and elsewhere are wary of an “incredible brain drain” over the next year or so, according to Andrew Gothard, president of United Faculty of Florida, the state’s faculty union. And what’s happening there could have national implications, as other GOP-led states take their cues from Florida on higher-ed policy.

Fort Myers News-Press - June 16, 2023

Bishop Verot coach fighting cancer hired to build New College of Florida softball program

The school announced in May plans to launch baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s soccer in the upcoming academic year. New College will apply for entry into the NAIA Sun Conference on July 1, according to athletic director and head baseball coach Mariano Jimenez. Jimenez said the head softball coaching job had around 75 applicants...“I just think she’s a dynamic mentor to young females,” he said. “I just think she’s going to make such a difference with those girls off the field.”

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 14, 2023

Investigation into New College faculty censure letter denies claims

An investigation by the administration into the claims within a recent censure letter targeting school leaders by New College of Florida's faculty concluded that the faculty's claims were unfounded.

NCF Freedom asks, what investigation took place?

Read the memo

Read the censure

Read a faculty member’s response

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 12, 2023

'Logistical nightmare:' Sarasota Classic Car Museum faces hasty eviction by New College

The museum site is owned by New College of Florida, which has leased the property to the tourist attraction for nearly 20 years... Now the college looks to turn the Sarasota Classic Car Museum into an athletic facility. At a New College board of trustees meeting on June 1, the board approved a plan to demolish the Palmer, Reichert and Knight buildings. Part of the plan included turning the car museum into a temporary space to accommodate student housing and other services displaced by the demolition. The property is about a hundred yards south of New College's Pei dorms, which are also likely to be demolished.

Reason - June 9, 2023

Firing a Professor for 'Left-Wing' Views Is Unconstitutional

On Tuesday, conservative activist and New College of Florida trustee Christopher Rufo announced that the college had declined to renew a visiting professor's contract because of his purportedly "left-wing" views. While Rufo hailed the ouster as a victory for the "classical liberal arts tradition," he didn't seem to realize that it was also likely a violation of the First Amendment.

Read the letter sent by FIRE, and Corcoran’s response. 

Daily Kos - June 8, 2023

The shocking real reason DeSantis targeted New College is foretelling of things to come

Most people who live in this state haven’t even heard about New College until this year, but if you keep track of the state’s white nationalist movement, you know exactly what it is. The hatred they have for this school is unfathomable. It’s no coincidence that this group has become so obsessed with the so-called liberal “indoctrination” at schools. If someone like Derek [Black] can change his mind with exposure to diversity, equality, and inclusion, what the hell will that do to people who weren’t raised to hate others?…The attack on New College is not just another piece of fodder on DeSantis’ culture war, or another attempt to “own the libs.” It was a deliberate assault on an institution that wounded the white supremacist movement.

Inside Higher Ed - June 6, 2023

New College of Florida Denies Contract to DeSantis Critic

Visiting professor of US History Erik Wallenberg’s contract was not renewed. He pushed back on the takeover of NCF and the DeSantis education agenda by writing a critical op-ed for Teen Vogue and inviting Marvin Dunn—a Black historian and frequent DeSantis critic—to campus to discuss threats to academic freedom.

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 1, 2023

What to know from New College of Florida Board of Trustees meeting Thursday

The board discussed and voted on the school's preliminary budget and held discussions about creating a new mascot for the college and admission numbers ahead of the first full year under a new, Gov. Ron DeSantis-appointed leadership. Topics: Preliminary budget, athletics and facilities funding; New College enrollment; Mascot change.

Tampa Bay Times - June 1, 2023

New College of Florida replaces its quirky mascot with another — a tree

Serving as the school’s subversive mascot, the Null Set started as an oversight that became an in-joke among the bookish liberal arts students. More recently, it’s served as a symbol of opposition to a new administration. That changed Thursday, when the school’s board of trustees voted to replace the mascot with the Mighty Banyan… The updated mascot coincides with Interim President Richard Corcoran’s push to make the school a destination for athletics-minded students. At Thursday’s meeting, Corcoran emphasized that aggressive recruiting of athletes to New College would “almost certainly” lead to record enrollment come fall.

WUSF - May 24, 2023

New College of Florida faculty vote to censure the board of trustees

“What we're really concerned about is that the student experience is getting a lot worse, due to actions by the Board of Trustees,” said Steve Shipman, New College Faculty Union President.

In a written statement, a college spokesperson wrote that “a number of the items outlined in the censure are false. The vote was taken because of the fear of the unknown and concerns will subside once the faculty see how all of the changes we are making at New College are moving us in a direction of improvement and future stability for our campus. In less than 90 days, a significant portion of the faculty are aligning with all efforts for New College to become the best liberal arts college in the country."

Vanity Fair - May 24, 2023

“It’s Been Weird and Scary”: On the Front Lines of New College’s Student-Led Rebellion Against Ron DeSantis

Alum David Canfield interviews students on campus and at the alternative commencement event.

Inside Higher Ed - May 24, 2023

AAUP Calls to Fight ‘Tooth and Nail’ in Florida

The American Association of University Professors released today a preliminary report sounding alarm about Florida higher education under Ron DeSantis’s governorship—and calling for academe to fight back. The roughly 17-page preliminary report focuses on what’s happening at New College of Florida, on “complicit” college and university administrators statewide, legislation, and the “chilling effect” produced by legislation even if it doesn’t become law or survive legal challenges.

Tampa Bay Times - May 22, 2023

New College of Florida faculty votes to censure trustees

The school’s revamped board has disregarded its “fiduciary duties,” faculty members say. About 80% of the faculty voted in favor of a motion listing 13 complaints against the board, which was revamped on Jan. 6 when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six new trustees to change the direction of the small, liberal arts college. Since then, “we’ve just experienced one thing after another that illustrates that the board members are not fulfilling their fiduciary duties,” said Liz Leininger, a faculty member who raised the motion on behalf of a colleague.

Sarasota Herald Tribune - May 20, 2023

New College of Florida graduates turn backs, wear masks in protest of leadership, changes

Late in the speech [from speaker Scott Atlas], most of the several hundred attendees had stood with their backs turned chanting "Wrap it up" for about a minute…“It’s disheartening that you'd have such an animosity by the school and the government towards its students," said Larry Silverman, 57, a parent of a New College graduate. "You wouldn't see a business that would really pick a fight with its own customers. And so it's sad because this was a special place.”

Tampa Bay Times - May 19, 2023

A difficult year at New College ends with a tense official graduation

Graduates, parents, faculty and friends heard two vastly different speeches at the official ceremony. “It was shameful all around,” said Elizabeth Mead, the mother of Shayne Mead, who graduated Friday with a degree in theater. “I agreed with a lot of what [Speaker Scott Atlas] said, but this was not the time or place for political propaganda,” she said…. The class of 2023 “has fought to get education through the onset of a global pandemic, threats of mergers, multiple hurricanes and four presidents in four years,” [Student speaker Sophia Brown] told the crowd.

MSNBC Alex Wagner Tonight - May 19, 2023

'Trumpy' commencement speaker rejected by New College grads celebrating own ceremony

Alex Wagner reports on the unofficial commencement ceremony the New College of Florida class of 2023 held for themselves with civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley as guest speaker, and shares some of the less-than-welcoming reception at the official commencement of Trump Covid advisor Scott Atlas, the speaker booked by the DeSantis-stacked school board.

Rolling Stone - May 19, 2023

Inside the Fight to Keep a Florida College Queer

Ron DeSantis staged a hostile takeover of tiny New College, an LGBTQ oasis. Then, students dug in… students organized rallies, teach-ins, town halls, and trips to Tallahassee to lobby legislators against the changes… now, they’re trying alternative means of subverting the top-down changes. 

Critical Times Podcast, WSLR - May 19, 2023

Interview with Alumni X Gonzalez and Derek Black

An hour before the official graduation ceremony on the bayfront campus, two notable New College alumni sat down for a conversation at WSLR. When they landed as freshmen in Sarasota, X Gonzalez and Derek Black were on the opposed ends of the political spectrum. Now, they decided to share a microphone for the first time, to unite in their passionate defense of the liberal college that is under political siege. We are playing an excerpt of their conversation.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 25th, 2023

Opinion: If this is what a New College trustee thinks of women then he needs to go

Mike Anderson holds no punches in his Opinion piece on New College Trustee Mark Bauerlein. 

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 5th, 2023

Richard Corcoran may be the president of New College, but Grace Keenan is its conscience

From the first moment of the school's contentious transformation – which began several months ago when DeSantis appointed six conservatives to form a clear majority on the New College trustees board – through Corcoran’s largely predetermined ascension to the presidency this week, Keenan has been a consistently inspirational figure.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – October 3rd, 2023

Opinion: DeSantis' fight with media over New College is another black eye

For decades, New College emitted sort of a hippie vibe from the 1960s, one that was anything but confrontational. These days, the school is back from the war angry, and therein lies the problem.

The New York Times – August 14th, 2023

At a College Targeted by DeSantis, Gender Studies Is Out, Jocks Are In

In two weeks, the new school year will begin at Florida’s New College, the progressive public liberal arts school singled out by Gov. Ron DeSantis for cultural transformation. Returning students will find an institution that is increasingly unrecognizable.

Sarasota Herald Tribune – August 10th, 2023

New College spitting incident deserves a 'sorry' - not a sentence

The author argues that “the controversy involving Catherine “Libby” Harrity, the New College of Florida student charged with allegedly spitting at school Trustee Christopher Rufo, has always felt like one better resolved through public contrition than punitive action.”

Sarasota Herald Tribune –August 9th, 2023

I'm a critic of New College's needless overhaul - and I won't 'shut up and move on'

The author writes that “Former New College of Florida Board Trustee Robert Allen Jr. has outdone himself in his two recent guest columns, both in demonstrating a lack of civility in discourse and in being a provocateur.”

Sarasota Herald Tribune – August 6th, 2023

We should not be 'totally good' with New College's loss of top faculty members

Former New College President, Donal O’Shea, explains why the loss of faculty members at New College is a tragedy, harming not only the school, but the entire system of higher education in Florida, and the state itself. 

Sarasota Herald Tribune – July 23rd, 2023

What happens to New College in a post-DeSantis Florida?

Sharon Landesman Ramey, a New College alum and former Foundation Board member, wonders what will come of New College when Desantis leaves his governorship, Corcoran realizes he is in over his head, and private investors descend on the New College property.

Daily Kos – July 19th, 2023

DeSantis wants New College of Florida to be a conservative academic paradise - professors flee

The author outlines the state of affairs at New College and in Florida higher education generally, pointing to the ‘brain drain’ at New College, and the millions of dollars that Desantis is now throwing at the school to enact his troubling vision. 

Chronicle of Higher Education – July 19th, 2023

I Was President of Florida’s New College. Then I Was Fired. 

Former New College President Patricia Okker writes about how to fight for academic freedom and prevent political meddling in higher education. 

Sarasota Herald Tribune – July 16th, 2023

New College's 'Freedom Institute' must walk its lofty talk

James Unnever, a noted criminologist and educator of more than 40 years, dares Corcoran to hire him as a speaker at the New College Freedom Institute, demonstrating his commitment to ‘the free market of ideas,’ rather than ‘indoctrinating students by canceling opposing views.’

Tampa Bay Times – July 15th, 2023

Here’s why we old graduates of New College don’t trust what’s going on

Steve Jacobsen and Herb Guggenheim write in response to two columns by Robert Allen Jr., which appeared in the June 22 and July 8 editions of the Tampa Bay Times.

Tampa Bay Times – July 13th, 2023

Why I gave up on New College and Florida and enrolled at Hampshire College

Tampa Bay Times – July 8th, 2023

New College faculty’s ‘censure’ of trustees isn’t even a thing

Robert Allen Jr. takes issue with the NCF faculty’s censure of the Board of Trustees, arguing that the faculty had no standing to censure, and should have issued a “resolution expressing their concerns” instead. 

Steve Jacobson and Herb Guggenheim -  Alumni 

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 29th, 2023

New College's overhaul is being driven by greed, arrogance and ignorance

Response to Bob Allen’s recent columns: The bottom line is this: New College is accepting students who some might consider less well-qualified – but in many cases it is turning out graduates of higher quality than those at the most selective institutions. Isn't that a better measure of a college's quality than the grade point averages and test scores of high school students? As for Allen’s criticism that New College has never done well financially, we would note that for years the school was starved of funds by Florida's Republican governors and lawmakers. 

Tressie McMillan Cottom  - Contributor

NYT Opinion - June 27th, 2023

What It Is Like to Teach in the Cross Hairs of Ron DeSantis

What some people I spoke to cannot get over is that they are living and working at ground zero of what feels like a culture of repression from the McCarthy era while the public still thinks the culture war in higher education is about civility and ChatGPT.

Rob McCoy - Opinion Contributor

Daily Beast - June 15, 2023

Speaking Your Mind in Ron DeSantis’ Free State of Florida Could Get You Fired

This May, New College chose not to renew Wallenberg’s contract. The only discernible explanation is the history professor’s public opposition to the school’s new leadership…The problem this poses for faculty speech is plain: Those employed on a contingent basis, from adjunct instructors to assistant visiting professors, are easily disposable and thus face great risk of retaliation for their speech.

Bob Allen - Alumnus, Presidential Search Committee Member

Tampa Bay Times - June 22, 2023

Here’s how Ron DeSantis saved New College of Florida from mediocrity 

Bob Allen writes that critics of changes at New College don’t understand the pro’s of Hillsdale College, and criticizes the school’s drop in rankings since becoming a public institution. The Sarasota Herald Tribune has reported on his involvement in DeSantis’s takeover of the New College Board.

Bob also wrote along the same lines for the Sarasota Herald Tribune on June 22nd: New College is changing for the better. It's time for the critics to shut up and move on… So to the critics – and particularly to the New College alumni and faculty members who assail the changes at the school as an attack on excellence – I say this: Shut up, already. You’ve done enough harm.

Liz Leininger - Faculty

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 20, 2023

NCF board responds badly to faculty censure

Following the memo calling the faculty censure “unfounded”, Leininger writes: Instead of seeking dialogue to discuss our concerns, the reply was unnecessarily combative, ignorant of well-documented and reported facts and full of willful misinterpretations of our concerns… My colleagues and I care about our students’ educational futures. The learning environment is threatened when trustees insult our students and colleagues, failing to balance their free speech with established principles of civil discourse. Our students’ learning environment will improve when the trustees act as true stewards.

Robin Williams - president of the Democratic Public Education Caucus of Manasota.

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 18, 2023

New College leaders botched new mascot process

Student Board Trustee Grace Keenan, who said changing the official mascot “Null Set” deserved more input from New College students, and that a final decision should be delayed until the fall. To anyone with even a cursory knowledge of racial stereotypes, the new mascot should have set off alarms. It turns out the original student version of the mascot was very different in appearance and was unlikely to have raised any concerns. Yet Interim President Richard Corcoran and the New College Board of Trustees, which includes culture warrior Christopher Rufo among its members, supported and chose an altered mascot that depicts a tree that has been anthropomorphized to closely resemble an angry, threatening brown individual.

Chris Anderson - Columnist

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 16, 2023

Sports at New College won't bring new students

There is a large misconception that colleges with sports programs contain a special building just for printing money, but unless you are an NCAA Division I school with a football program like Florida, Notre Dame or Alabama, it doesn't work that way… This area's support of high school sports has noticeably dwindled over the years, and, yes, that includes football. And what about the State College of Florida basketball program? A few weeks ago, it was quietly announced on Twitter the program was shutting down.

Esther Barazzone - Alumna

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 15, 2023

Academic freedom must be protected at New College of Florida

Another response to Bob Allen’s June 1st column in the Tribune: Of course, public institutions “belong” to the citizens of a state. The real issue, however, centers on whether these institutions have the proper governance structures and processes in place to best serve the interests of a state's citizens… I served nearly 25 years as the president of a private university. I served twice as a member of the New College Foundation board. I currently serve on the boards of two universities, one public and one private. And during all of these years of service, I have still yet to see what Allen has purportedly seen: faculties that “rule the roost.”...it was wrong for him to suggest that the tenure process allows a faculty to push around a college's board of trustees.

Felice Schulaner - Alumna and Former BOT Chair

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 6, 2023

New College Board of Trustees allowed politics to trump academic integrity

The Former Board Chair disputes the points made by Bob Allen in his op ed “New College trustees board deserves praise for refusing to be a rubber stamp for faculty,” including the BOT’s Sunshine Law violations, denying faculty tenure, and his claims that faculty are responsible for the school’s failures: “But the fact is the issues New College faced in previous years were more attributable to underfunding than faculty overreach. Indeed, for years the DeSantis administration consistently vetoed budget requests by New College – yet the school continued to produce record numbers of graduates who went on to earn prestigious fellowships and spots at top graduate schools.”

Bob Allen - Alumnus and member of Presidential Search Committee

Sarasota Herald Tribune - June 1, 2023

New College trustees board deserves praise for refusing to be a rubber stamp for faculty

Liberals have long dominated most public university and college boards in Florida, so they see nothing invidious when they naturally agree with each other. But when conservatives naturally agree with each other while making policies, liberals will suddenly and predictably proclaim that such decisions must have been reached solely through “collusion” – and must have been driven solely by "the lack of a moral compass."

Read the retort by local resident Michael Phelan: Wrong to give platform to participant in New College takeover: Why on Earth would the Herald-Tribune publish an op-ed piece by Robert Allen Jr. regarding the hostile makeover of New College?

Rev. Dennis Kezar - Alumnus

Sarasota Herald Tribune - May 31, 2023

It’s not too late for DeSantis to do what’s right for New College

If DeSantis is ambitious enough to lead an even more diverse people than in this state, it would be a remarkable sign of leadership for him to display a spirit more gracious than tolerance. What might be possible if we cherish our differences and seek to learn from minorities who disagree with us – as we were taught at New College?

Amy Reid - NCF Professor of Gender Studies

Ms. Magazine - May 30, 2023

The Florida Moms are Alright

What’s now unfolding at the New College of Florida in Sarasota is one of those intensely local David and Goliath stories with real consequences for the state and the country. The backdrop is the political push from the radical right to reshape public education—academic freedom, LGBTQ+ rights and free speech, be damned. But what deserves the real spotlight here, is the efforts of a scrappy group of parents—mostly moms—to protect their kids. 

Liz Leininger - Faculty

Sarasota Herald Tribune - May 24, 2023

Censure of New College trustees board is a call for better leadership

[The Faculty's] statement stands as a historical record of the following: At this moment in Florida's history, we do not recognize those acting in bad faith as legitimate trustees…. This is not the recipe for a healthy university – or a healthy democracy. But if we cannot feel free to speak up now, we will bend to the authoritarian forces that are trying to hijack public education. We ask the members of the New College of Florida Board of Trustees to act as true stewards of our institution. If they do not, we will know that their goal is not to steward New College and, by extension, public education. We will know that their goal is wreak destruction – starting at New College and ending at a campus near you.  

Michelle Goldberg - Columnist

New York Times - May 22,2023

Ron DeSantis’s Takeover of a Progressive College

Listen: Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is expected to enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination this week. DeSantis’s vision for New College speaks volumes about his vision for America.

Carol Braginsky Davis - Alumna

David Z. Young - Alumnus

New York Times - May 9, 2023

The Laments of Alumni of New College of Florida

“ I am heartbroken (not too strong a word) that New College of Florida will soon no longer be the one-of-a-kind and inspired educational experience that I and so many other students were privileged to have.”

“New College challenges students to work at defining what kind of life they want to lead and become critical thinkers — open to ideas in the humanities, arts and sciences. It is a college of inclusion and equity for students and faculty whose lifestyle, religious beliefs and politics are diverse, reflecting those of the nation.”

Kevin Unrath - Alumnus, Professional Librarian

Sarasota Herald Tribune - May 5, 2023

Firing of librarian is yet another irrational act by New College Board of Trustees

It wasn’t a surprise to hear of this decision by the New College trustees, a group that claims to want a return to a “classical education” – yet apparently without the leadership of a professional librarian to assist with acquiring and organizing the resources that such an education requires… No one who wants to being treated in a fair and respectful manner will be interested in working at New College of Florida.

Sharon Landesman Ramey - Alumna

Sarasota Herald Tribune - May 2, 2023

Set politics aside, advocate for NCF

Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies attacked New College with a tsunami of lies, hypocrisy, self-aggrandizement and bullying. They committed state funds to programs and new hires while defying state regulations. They denied tenure to deserving faculty and blatantly seek to cancel academic freedom….Florida now votes strongly Republican. Does this mean most Floridians want to destroy our higher education system?... Please, set aside extreme politics and effectively advocate for New College.

Herb Guggenheim - Alumnus

Sarasota Herald Tribune - May 2, 2023

Board is altering New College by decree

The changes imposed on New College stem from a flimsy right-wing theory: These conservatives believe they can fashion a college that will produce conservative students who will unquestioningly adhere to their orthodoxies… The end result will be a mediocre school with little to distinguish it from other mediocre schools.

Michelle Goldberg - Columnist

New York Times - April 29, 2023

This Is What the Right-Wing Takeover of a Progressive College Looks Like

“They are turning a top-rated academic institution into a third-rate athletic facility,” [parent Eliana Salzhauer] said….For many, the board of trustees meeting was the clearest sign yet that this is the last semester of New College as they know it. The pivot point was the trustees’ decision to override the typical tenure process. 

Brian Cody - Alumnus, Former Trustee

Sarasota Herald Tribune - April 25, 2023

Search committee chosen to stack votes

It has been the norm for student government representatives to serve on Florida college presidential search committees…. Debra Jenks, the chair of the New College trustees board, did appoint a student to the search committee but that individual is not involved in student government. He is an intern for Sarasota Republican state Sen. Joe Gruters.

Nicolas Delon - Faculty

The Point - April 5, 2023

The Test Case

We have seven or eight tenure-track candidates coming up for tenure this year. Everyone has a positive recommendation for tenure. The next step is supposed to be the Board of Trustees, which in April will approve or deny tenure. Traditionally, the Board of Trustees just rubber-stamps the tenure based on the recommendations that are made. Now, recently, President Corcoran has met with the president of our union to recommend that the candidates withdraw their files before it’s too late. My interpretation is that Corcoran suspects there’s probably a non-negligible proportion of the trustees who want to make an example out of those people and deny them tenure.

Brian Rosenberg - Chronicle of Higher Ed

Chronicle of Higher Ed - April 6, 2023

The Deafening Silence of Florida’s College Presidents

The only president of a public institution in the state who has attempted in any form to defend the work at her institution is Patricia Okker, formerly the leader of New College… Is it preferable to get less money for a college that remains faithful to its mission or more money for one that abandons it? Do you prefer the previous version of New College — cash-strapped but serving students well — or the emerging version, likely to be infused with more public funding in its race to become what the Florida education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. called the “Hillsdale of the South,” that is, a largely white and openly Christian institution with direct ties to Republican politics?

Sophia Brown - Student, Editor-in-Chief The Catalyst

CNN - March 28, 2023

I chose New College because I didn’t have to leave my identity at the campus door

In fact, the diversity efforts proudly practiced at New College were inherent to a quality education. A student’s academics are enriched when they are able to encounter a variety of people and viewpoints. Broadening our horizons is the point of pursuing higher education. Anyone who reframes these concepts as deceitful or who wields them as a weapon in a culture war that the New College community did not ask to participate in, will never serve the best interests of students. 

Rabbi Michael Rothbaum, Alumnus

The Nation - March 10, 2023

Ron DeSantis Is Destroying Florida’s New College Just Because He Can

I hold out hope for a New College miracle. But, as of now, none of what I learned at New College is a match for the ugliness taking hold in too many American hearts and halls of power.

Debarati Biswas and Erik Wallenberg - Faculty

Teen Vogue - March 6,2023

New College of Florida: The Conservative Christian Takeover by Ron DeSantis, Chris Rufo

In this op-ed, two New College professors blame the DeSantis administration for trying to force a conservative Christian model of education. “We are here to defend the freedom of students to learn in their chosen environment, with programs and classes that align with the school in which they enrolled. We are here to defend the freedom of faculty members to teach what we have spent lifetimes studying and were hired to help students understand. And we are here to defend the freedom of staffers to organize in support of the diversity, equity, and inclusion that stand as a central community agreement — one that we desperately need in this state and country.”

Dr. Glenn Whitehouse - Alumnus, Associate Dean Florida Gulf Coast University

News Press.com - March 5, 2023

New College was made the enemy in governor's culture war

Students are pawns in a game whose only winners are politicians. The trustees’ promise to remake the school into a real liberal arts college rings false, because the truth is New College has never stopped being a liberal arts college. How do I know? I went to New College years ago as did my wife, and our son graduated just last year.

Aaron Hillegass, Director NCF Applied Data Science Master’s Program, Alumnus

Tampa Bay Times - March 4, 2023

In Florida and at New College, what we lose when we ignore stewardship and competence

The erosion of competence starts at the top, but seldom stops until few people in an organization are worthy of the seat they sit in.

Teri Hansen, CEO Barancik Foundation

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Feb 19, 2023  

Amid the uncertainty, one thing is certain: New College will continue to achieve

We are confident that the new trustees will come to see the special nature of this institution.

And we are hopeful that recent changes will not impede New College’s place as an anchor institution in our community – or keep its amazing students and faculty from continuing the school’s remarkable trajectory, creating leaders and visionaries who change the world around them. 

Stephen Miles, former NCF Provost

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Feb 14, 2023

Florida's universities have faced interference before

It's worth remembering that DeSantis is not the first Florida politician to try to impose his will on our system of higher education.

Barrett J Taylor 

Inside Higher Ed - Feb 13, 2023 

Is Florida ‘Wrecked’?

In moving to undermine higher education’s institutional independence, Florida is following a playbook we’ve seen before—but with unparalleled intensity.

Esther Barazzone, Alumna 

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Feb 12, 2023

New College's past is being distorted to fit today's political agendas

As I watched the first meeting of the newly installed New College Board of Trustees on Jan. 31, I was angered and disgusted, to say the least, by the process and its outcomes…. And, shamefully, much of what took place was cynically justified by distorting the founding principles and history of New College of Florida itself.  

Carol Flint, Alumna

LA Times - Feb 7, 2023

Ron DeSantis is wrecking a college to score political points. How shameful

As a graduate of New College of Florida, I witnessed the recent board meeting in which Gov. Ron DeSantis’ newly appointed trustees ignored community pleas to get to know the school before taking a wrecking ball to it.

Andrew Gothard 

Inside Higher Ed - Feb 7, 2023

What Happens in Florida…

Governor DeSantis is leading an assault on the state’s public higher education institutions.

…It is clear that Florida’s colleges and universities are not broken. They will be, however, if the governor’s long-term agenda to dismantle higher education is allowed to succeed.

Carrie Seidman, Columnist 

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Feb 3, 2023

Inside the New College boardroom - an ungodly display of power and arrogance

…a dispassionate display of political overreach that might have been shocking were it not so similar to what took place last fall when new Sarasota County Public Schools board members, also endorsed by DeSantis, terminated the district superintendent at their first meeting.... Apparently, this is what public education is going to look like under a governor who, by virtue of his election victory margin, feels entitled to pursue – to borrow from new Board Trustee Christopher Rufo’s military vernacular – whatever shock and awe campaign will help pave his path to the White House. 

Chris Anderson - Columnist

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Feb 2

Opinion: If New College turns to sports the school will be thrown for a loss

If Speir wants to know why this business model so often fails, all he has to do is look to his own board of directors. (Inspiration Academy)

Esther Barazzone, Alumna

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Jan 31, 2023

Make New College an even better school - not a totally different one

I know what dealing with a challenged institution means. And I know that dealing with a challenged institution does not mean what it appears to mean at New College at this moment.

Tamara Solum & Kari Solum (Parent & Alumna)

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Jan 30, 2023

New College gives every student a chance to thrive. Isn't that worth saving?

As a student with a disability, my daughter was able to thrive at New College because of its inclusivity and support. Her talents were recognized and supported with a personalized approach.

Gordon E. Michalson, Former President of New College of Florida

Tampa Bay Times - January 28th, 2023

I was president of New College, and here’s what I think 

Through its graduates, and often against great odds, New College has established an enviable record of national recognition, achievement, and success, which includes producing a host of elected officials who — tellingly, perhaps — span the entire political spectrum. In short, a quality liberal arts and sciences education is simply not a partisan matter.

Michelle Roberts, Parent

Tallahassee Democrat - January 23rd, 2023

My daughter found her perfect campus at New College of Florida and now DeSantis wants to destroy it

As a parent finally watching their child thrive in New College’s unique supportive academic environment, I cannot stand by silently and watch her future collapse unfold as collateral damage in DeSantis’ race to the White House. If DeSantis “succeeds” here, then we have failed our children and your child’s campus may be next.

Carrie Seidman, Columnist 

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Jan 20, 2023

New College ‘makeover’ would stifle a population contributing to our future

I come from Michigan, and I know Hillsdale. It is, in every way, the antithesis of New College.

Eric D Nowak, Alumnus 

Tampa Bay Times - January 19th, 2023

I graduated from New College of Florida, and I have some thoughts

We were not told what to think, only to think for ourselves. The beauty of it is that you get real creativity out of it, real original thought.

Charlene Lenger & Felipe Colon, former Trustees 

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Jan 13, 2023

A new New College? A message from two former trustees

It is our hope that the conversation about the future of New College will be one focused on collaboration rather than conflict, and progress rather than politics.

Chris Anderson, Herald Tribune Columnist

Sarasota Herald Tribune - Jan 13, 2023

Opinion: New College founding father would be appalled by the actions of Ron DeSantis

Quotes Keith Berggren, son of NCF founder and professor Douglas Berggren.

Michelle Goldberg 

NY Times - January 9th, 2023

DeSantis Allies Plot the Hostile Takeover of a Liberal College

The fight over the future of New College is about more than just the fate of this small school in Sarasota. For DeSantis, it’s part of a broader quest to crush any hint of progressivism in public education, a quest he’d likely take national if he ever became president. For Rufo, a reconstructed New College would serve as a model for conservatives to copy all over the country. 

Lincoln Diaz Balart - 2020

Watch: Former Republican Congressman and NCF Alumnus speak about academic freedom at New College

State Senator Joe Gruters

Sarasota Herald Tribune - February 2nd, 2020

New College is a premier institution. Let’s not break it.

Republican State Senator and former Florida Republican Party Chair Joe Gruters expounds on the value of New College during the threat of merger with FSU in 2020.

New College of Florida Board of Trustees information including upcoming meetings and agendas, and past meeting minutes and agendas, can be found here: https://www.ncf.edu/about/leadership/board-of-trustees/

New College Foundation Board of Directors information:

https://www.ncf.edu/alumni/foundation/board-of-directors/

Publicly Noticed NCF Meetings appear here: 

https://www.ncf.edu/public-notices/

Meeting Recordings:

July 6th, Board of Trustees

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July 5th, Presidential Search Committee

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June 1st, Board of Trustees

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May 17th, Presidential Search Committee

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April 27th, Presidential Search Committee

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April 26th, Board of Trustees

Updates to regulations approved. Presentations of alternative admissions options, 2023 accountability plan, and changing institutional accreditors. 5 qualified faculty are denied tenure by majority of BOT members without cause. Trustee professor Matthew Lepinski resigns.  Watch Here

Agenda and Materials

February 28th, Board of Trustees

Interim President Corcoran’s first board meeting. BOT voted to have Corcoran eliminate Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence, and create a school policy that prohibits spending money on any DEI efforts. Watch Here

February 21st, Special BOT Meeting

Approved updated contract for Richard Corcoran. Watch Here

February 13th, Special BOT Meeting

New College of Florida Board of Trustees reviewed and approved Richard Corcoran’s contract and appointment as the interim president of the College. Upon Board of Governors approval (Feb 22) Corcoran would assume role on Feb 27. Watch Here

January 31st, Board of Trustees

Trustees put forth changes to abolish DEI; Termination of President Patricia Okker’s contract; Resignation of chair by Mary Ruiz; Positing of Richard Corcoran as Interim President. Watch Here