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Former New College President decries what FL has lost due to DeSantis's assault on education [1]
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Date: 2023-08-06
In previous diaries, and in conversations with friends, I’ve complained about the lack of any leaders in Florida — education leaders, business leaders, foundation leaders — standing up to Ron DeSantis as he aggressively works to destroy every aspect of our state — from education to civil rights to the economy to the environment. In my view they are all being complicit in his growing racism, homophobia and fascism in our state.
So I was pleased to read a stinging opinion piece today in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune by Donal O'Shea, who served as president of New College of Florida from 2012 to 2021. As you all surely know by now, over the past year DeSantis has led a hostile takeover of New College so that he can transform it from a small and thriving liberal arts college to a wingnut haven of ignorance and intolerance. As a result, over the past few months 38 of New College’s 90 full-time, tenured and tenure-track faculty members have quietly resigned, retired or decided to teach elsewhere — a stunning and unprecedented loss of 42% of the college’s faculty
DeSantis has stated that he is “totally good” with this devastating loss of New College faculty. O’Shea calls BS on that.
There is no reason to feel "totally good" about the loss of so many New College of Florida faculty members. It is truly a tragedy. It is a tragedy for New College, where – as with the nation’s other best universities – the creation and mastery of knowledge depends crucially on the interaction between the curiosity and drive of students and the disciplinary expertise and passion for teaching of faculty.
O’Shea goes on to explain the exhaustive amount of time and resources it takes for any college or university to develop a strong and vibrant faculty.
Good faculty are exceedingly hard to hire. Faculty positions are more than jobs – they are vocations. They require long hours to identify and nurture merit in student work, and to stay current and advance one’s discipline. It can take two to three years to hire the right individual in some areas of study. And it takes years after that for a faculty member to establish themselves in their discipline and to reach their peak of effectiveness as a teacher within the institution.
DeSantis is destroying all of that practically overnight, and ‘a loss that won’t be quickly replaced. O’Shea goes on:
Since faculty careers average 30 to 40 years, one would reasonably expect to lose two to four faculty members in a year. Losing six faculty members in a year would raise eyebrows and would draw concerned questions from any board trustee who knew something about higher education. But losing 38 faculty members in a year boggles the imagination: I have never encountered a loss of this scale in my 50 years in higher education.
O’Shea explains that this dramatic loss of New College faculty is not just a tragedy for the students, who he notes “work closely with faculty and who – for years after they graduate – rely on the same faculty for advice and references.” It’s also a tragedy for the Sarasota-Manatee region where New College is located, as the loss of so many top-notch faculty “will hobble New College’s ability to continue to collaborate with artistic, cultural, educational and scientific enterprises in the area, which will adversely affect other institutions that make this area so vibrant.”
None of the 38 departing faculty were fired. They all chose to leave. O’Shea’s devastating parting words:
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