Summary

New College of Florida, once a liberal arts institution, has undergone a conservative overhaul driven by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and allies, who installed a right-leaning board and administration.

Led by Richard Corcoran, the college has hired faculty with connections to rightwing media and think tanks, sidelining traditional hiring protocols, according to an internal letter.

This transformation, viewed by some Republicans as a model for conservative reform in higher education, has sparked controversy, faculty pushback, and a significant drop in national rankings amidst a shift in curriculum and institutional focus.

  • SeaJ
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    171 month ago

    The university president gets an absurd income of over $1 million per year. Almost $1500/year of a student’s tuition simply goes to paying the president. University of Washington’s president (references because I went there) also makes over a million but the school also has 51k students so each student gives the president a $20 per year.

    The school also got hundreds of millions of government funds to revamp the school. DeSantis replaced the board with his friends, most of whom have no background in education. This whole thing is basically one giant graft.

    • mr_robot
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      1 month ago

      Grift, not graft.

      • SeaJ
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        131 month ago

        Graft

        the acquisition of gain (such as money) in dishonest or questionable ways

        A grift would be them getting the money illegally through something like a con. Graft is technically legal but clearly dishonest.

        • mr_robot
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          41 month ago

          Huh, TIL, thanks.

    • @andrewta
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      11 month ago

      Could be a grift or a graft depending on your viewpoint.