The former Washington A.D. was introduced at USC on Monday amid a concerted effort to not touch on the Mike Bohn controversy. New College of Florida has a reputation for being the most progressive public college in the state. Feb. 5, 2023 3 AM PT SARASOTA, Fla. The campus was on edge, with more than a dozen police officers and a bomb-sniffing dog on patrol and rumors spreading that far-right militias were on their. New College of Florida president booted, overhaul of progressive campus The lawsuit was filed by the Florida Center for Government Accountability. ", Galvano said Friday in a text message that he is "very supportive of these efforts and think this creates a lot of positive opportunities for the university.". The choices for the New College board drew criticism from Andrew Gothard, president of the United Faculty of Florida union. Bloomberg/Getty Images Our campus is undergoing a hostile takeover. Florida education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. last monthshared a list of concernsaboutthe course, ranging from broad concepts to specific authors. Ron DeSantis efforts to remake New College of Florida filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging the measure. His introductory remarks were interrupted multiple times by audience members disputing his assertions. Critical race theory:What is it and how did it become a political dividing line? His books include, Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing and When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment, according to information posted on the Ethics & Public Policy Center website. New College of Florida's Board of Trustees votes to terminate - WFLA The vote followed an unusually heated debate among the trustees, frequently interrupted by jeers and chants of shame on you from a crowd onlookers who sat through the nearly three-hourlong meeting. ", "My philosophy on this is quite simple: You're going to have students, faculty, staff from a wide variety of backgrounds we need to have a single common standard that says we're going to treat everyone equally, everyone has equal human dignity," Rufo said, adding the college shouldn't have "favoritism on the basis of identity groups.". New College of Florida, under the governor's new appointees, will be refocused on its founding mission of providing a world-class quality education with an exceptional focus on the classics.". Rufos trying, he said, to steal the strategies and the principles of the Gramscian left, and then to organize a kind of counterrevolutionary response to the long march through the institutions.. You are constitutional officers appointed by the governor. Some New College alumni are among its biggest boosters. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced six conservative board members have been appointed to the liberal New College of Florida Friday his latest broadside against so-called wokeness as he attempts to shape education policy in the state. The newly remade board of trustees voted last week to give the Sarasota schools interim President Richard Corcoran, a former Florida House speaker and state education commissioner, a pay bump of nearly $400,000 over his predecessor. issues. Their rhetoric focuses on pushing their Christian and anti-science agendas while pretending to be fighting for free speech and diversity of opinions, said Riley Wood, 19, a second-year computer sciences student who posed a question to Rufo. "There is no room for dissent. AP. A New College of Florida group alleges a state law censors courses 2 DeSantis-appointed trustees showed up at New College. In a statement, DeSantis said Rufo had lead the fight against Critical Race Theory in American schools and other institutions. Christopher Rufo, one of the controversial new trustees for New College of Florida, addresses the audience at the Mildred Sainer Pavilion on the campus of New College of Florida, on Wednesday, Jan . DeSantis most controversial pick for the schools board is right-wing activist and Manhattan Institute fellow Christopher Rufo. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. For Rufo, a reconstructed New College would serve as a model for conservatives to copy all over the country. In New College, he sees a chance to create a new type of educational institution to replace those hes trying to destroy. The law, in part, requires that such courses may not distort significant historical events, include curriculum that teaches identity politics, or violate a state law that restricts the way certain race-related topics can be taught in schools. DeSantiss office issued a statement on the first Friday of the new year announcing six gubernatorial appointments to New Colleges 13-member board of trustees, and some of the names stunned students and faculty members alike. By Q McCray, WFTV.com and James Tutten, WFTV.com. Staff Writer Melissa Prez-Carrillo contributed to this report, which also used information from the News Service of Florida. Herald-Tribune Arts Editor and Theater Critic Jay Handelman contributed to this report. This grandiose project has several parts. The elimination or curtailment of many AOCs (areas of concentration) or majors directly affects the rights of current and future faculty and students, including the plaintiffs bringing this action. Among Rufo's goals for New College that he laid out in a tweet: Restructuring the administration, developing "a new core curriculum," eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies and restructuring academic departments. [. The governor gets six appointments to each university board, while the state Board of Governors - which oversees the university system - gets five. ", "The current model is not working," Robinson said. Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Six to the New College of Florida Board That is the path forward in my mind.". The lawsuit listed a number of the programs and courses that would be on the chopping block. when the court ruled racial segregation was constitutional. New College professor Amy Reid teaches French and Genders Studies and directs the school's Gender Studies Program, a discipline that some conservatives have targeted. The Florida education system has been in the spotlight lately after Gov. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Anderson's appointment means a majority of the 13-member New College board is new. Letsgetstarted. ", Bradenton State Rep. Will Robinson said the changes are warranted given New College's "dismal enrollment numbers and relative high cost to the state. They included Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who has spearheaded the ongoing attack on the supposed teaching of critical race theory in primary and secondary schools; Matthew Spalding, a professor and dean at a private, conservative Christian school in Michigan called Hillsdale College that was often touted by the late Rush Limbaugh on his popular radio talk show as the kind of university his listeners should send their teenagers to; and Charles Kesler, a professor at Claremont McKenna College in southern California and editor of the conservative publication the Claremont Review of Books. Board members Christopher Rufo and Eddie Speir fielded questions Wednesday morning from a packed crowd of roughly 200 people at the Mildred Sainer Music and Arts Pavilion, their first public appearance on the colleges Sarasota campus. For example, the complaint alleged that a student majoring in Art History is apparently encouraged to evaluate the most off-limits of all subjects critical race theory. Critical race theory is based on the concept that racism is embedded in American institutions. ", "Recently, DeSantis installed a Republican to the PBC Commission, announced plans to take over Disney with a state-run board, and flooded New College's board with conservatives," Berman wrote on Twitter. Its picturesque seaside campus in the city of Sarasota, Florida, finds itself in the crosshairs of rightwing Republican state governor Ron DeSantiss latest culture wars crusade, in this instance to destroy its unofficial reputation as a haven for approximately 650 generally progressive-leaning students, about half of whom identify themselves as non-heterosexual. DeSantis Faces Swell of Criticism Over Florida's New Standards for Zac Anderson Sarasota Herald-Tribune Mired in controversy since Gov. What does it mean to be 'woke,' and why does Florida Governor Ron DeSantis want to stop it? They didnt block AP European history. The documentstresses that theproject topicscan be refined by local states and districts.. Black history is American history. "That came in last night. People like Rufo are making statements to make impact, Shipman said. DeSantis appointed Rufo, Speir and four other new board members to Floridas public liberal arts college earlier this month in an effort to remake the school, which has long been known as a progressive institution. What's Next?" is the subject of the next panel discussion hosted by the Sarasota Tiger Bay Club. 'Black history is not inferior': Black leaders object to Florida's 'culture war against African Americans'. "I want to support the New College family. Other audience members shouted "you're a child" and "liar" after various Rufo remarks. The suit also warns that time is of the essence because, absent a civil action, state law allows the disposition of records 30 days after an information request is made if a local government agency asserts that the solicited documents arent subject to public inspection. DeSantis is going to lay siege to university 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' programs," Rufo wrote. "The courses we offer reflect curricula at the best schools across the country, she added. "We have a mandate from Gov. The course, which is10 years in the making, already is being taught in 60high schools. Ron DeSantis claimed on Twitter that the College Board will be revising the course for the entire nation due to the governors principled stand for education over identity politics.. Ron DeSantis for cultural transformation. DeSantis aides blasted the school Friday and said an overhaul is needed. Here are some tips. Both Speir and Rufo said the resources would come once DeSantis and the Legislature see that the college is moving in a new direction. Rufo said beforehand that he welcomed vigorous debate. "For nearly two decades, fringe ideologies and political activism has eroded the mission of New College of Florida. Next school year, it will be taught at approximately 500 high schools nationwide before being offered at any school interested in providingthe course. Gov. Rufo said the communication implied someone was "going to shoot and murder Trustee Speir.". On Tuesday, the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a nonprofit that focuses on securing access to public records, filed a lawsuit in Sarasota County against New College and Christopher Rufo, one of the new trustees and an activist credited with turning critical race theory into a conservative rallying cry. That lawsuit challenges a part of the law that did away with arbitration in university employment disputes. Ron DeSantis signed three higher ed bills at New College of Florida. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, The GOP race isnt over yet just look at Iowa, DeSantis camp doubles down on listless vessels blast as he rips entitled Trump, DeSantis asks Florida IG to probe former Disney-appointed board for dropping $2M on perks including $500K on tickets, Pro-DeSantis PAC savages Trump for failure to probe Hillary Clinton, sent a memo to the states Department of Education. Florida quietly added more secrecy to university president searches, Floridas new higher education law faces legal challenges, At New College orientation, students express hope and hesitation, A semester inside the siege: New College professor is trapped in the takeover, What New Colleges board members get wrong about gender studies and classical majors | Column, What is the Republican plan for Social Security? This story has been shared 131,504 times. DeSantis touched on his goals for higher education this month in his second inauguration speech. Money. There was a push by Republican lawmakers in 2020 to merge New College with another higher education institution. On Friday, he announced six new appointments to New Colleges 13-member board of trustees, including Chris Rufo, who orchestrated the rights attack on critical race theory, and Matthew Spalding, a professor and dean at Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school in Michigan with close ties to Donald Trump. New College which became a public institution when it joined Floridas state university system in 1975 soon established itself as one of Americas premier liberal arts schools. Speir confirmed during the meeting and afterward that he was made aware of a death threat, but declined to go into detail when asked about it later by the Herald-Tribune. Controversy over how education is taught in Florida's classrooms continues to grow. Thwarted in their hope of imminent revolution, the new left of Dutschkes generation sought instead to bore into political and cultural institutions, working within the system to change the basic assumptions of Western society. DeSantis," Rufo said before the meeting. When we spoke, he compared his plans to Elon Musks takeover of Twitter. Florida blocked AP African American Studies. What is in the class? Rise of Christopher Rufo:How critical race theory went from conservative battle cry to mainstream powder keg, Rufo:What I discovered about critical race theory in public schools and why it shouldn't be taught. This year, he is turning his attention to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and, with his colleagues at the Manhattan Institute, will soon unveil model legislation to abolish such programs at state schools. Other Republican leaders in Sarasota and Manatee counties also expressed support for the governor's New College overhaul. The public liberal arts New College is governed by a 13 member board, six of which are chosen by the governor pending approval by the state senate. I dont want my views to be the new stifling orthodoxy on campus, he told faculty members amid some audible snickering in the auditorium. DeSantis has made education one of the pillars of his 2024 run for president. They didnt block our music history.". This new controversy is just the tip of the iceberg. In January, Gov. Ron DeSantis got off to a contentious start Wednesday when two controversial new board members addressed the college community for the first time in a meeting that nearly was canceled because of a reported death threat, and featured frequent heckling and pointed questions from the audience. Students and Money. New USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen, left, and university . Heres how it went. We've received your submission. Ruiz, who had served on the board since 2019, frequently opposed DeSantis-appointed trustees on controversial votes.
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