DeSantis attacks on Florida's New College hit home as faculty flee

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attempted to burnish his hard-right credentials for a run for president, one of his big moves was a hostile takeover of the New College of Florida, known as the state’s most liberal public college or university and a place particularly loathed by white supremacists. Now, as DeSantis’ presidential campaign flounders, the damage he’s already done to New College in a matter of months is becoming clear as more than 1 in 3 of the college’s full-time faculty won’t be back for the coming school year.

DeSantis installed six new members on the board of trustees, choosing hard-right anti-LGBTQ+ bigots and opponents of public education: Christopher Rufo, the architect of the Republican “critical race theory” panic and a huge proponent of labeling teachers “groomers”; the superintendent of a religious charter school; the dean of the private Christian Hillsdale College; and last but not least, the author of a book so anti-LGBTQ+ that Amazon stopped selling it. The goal, DeSantis’ chief of staff said, was to turn New College—a public institution—into “a Hillsdale of the South.”