Ron DeSantis-Picked College Board Censured Over 'Unprofessional' Behavior

Staff members at New College, a liberal arts institution in Sarasota, Florida, have voted to censure its board of trustees over claims they were "failing in their fiduciary duties."

In a letter to the college's leadership, Amy Reid, chair of the New College Faculty, wrote that a motion censuring what it described as unprofessional behavior had been passed by "a strong majority" of staff.

In January, DeSantis appointed six new members to the 13-strong board of trustees, including some who have been cheerleaders for his education policies. Students at the college have called for their resignation.

The changes within New College's leadership have been viewed as an illustration of DeSantis' culture war agenda in microcosm: the public school is now facing conservative intervention many within the institution are unhappy with.

Since 2022, the Florida governor has overhauled parts of Florida's education system, including signing the "don't say gay" law and banning higher education institutions from receiving funding for diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory programs.

According to the letter, staff claimed that several trustees had acted "in isolation," had voted against recent tenure cases "without offering explanation or evidence of having read the tenure files," and had not "to our knowledge" helped the college raise funds.

When the board rejected tenure cases at a recent meaning, they were met with chants of "shame on you" from parents, who also spoke out against the effective takeover by DeSantis allies.

The motion also claimed trustees Christopher Rufo, Mark Bauerlein and Eddie Speir had "not to our knowledge disclosed financial conflicts of interest," and Rufo "refuses to cooperate with public records... requests related to his work as a trustee."

It also argued that Rufo and Speir "regularly make disparaging and unprofessional comments on social media and in the news media about New College students, staff, and community members, communicating a lack of fiduciary care, harming and diminishing the college's standing."

Reid noted that the faculty had opted to censure the board of trustees as it "invites redress," rather than a vote of no confidence, which "communicates a general lack of support."

Newsweek approached New College via email for comment on Tuesday.

New College told the Tampa Bay Times that many of the complaints were false, and derided them as the result of "resistance to change."

It said such concerns would settle "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."

Rufo, a conservative activist and senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute, appeared alongside DeSantis at the signing of his Stop Woke Act in 2022, according to the New York Times.

Speir has written critically about New College on a substack and has said he has attempted to talk to students on campus about religion. He describes himself as a "follower of Jesus." According to the Herald-Tribune, he was replaced by another DeSantis appointee on Friday after failing to be confirmed by the state senate.

Bauerlein is a professor of English at Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, and editor of First Things, a religious journal.

Liz Leininger, a faculty member who raised the motion for another member of staff who feared retribution, told the Tampa Bay Times that since the takeover, "we've just experienced one thing after another that illustrates that the board members are not fulfilling their fiduciary duties."

Newsweek approached DeSantis' office via email for comment on Tuesday.