TALLAHASSEE (LifeSiteNews) – Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his latest move to depoliticize education in the Sunshine State on Friday, announcing the appointment of six new members to the far-left New College of Florida’s (NCF’s) board of trustees with an aim toward significantly transforming the ideological direction of the institution.
DeSantis named to the board the Manhattan Institute’s Chris Rufo, who is best known for his work exposing the influence of critical race theory in academia and the business world, as well as Hillsdale College’s Dr. Matthew Spalding, Claremont-McKenna College’s Dr. Charles Kesler, Emory University’s Dr. Mark Bauerlein, attorney Debra Jenks, and Inspiration Academy co-founder Jason “Eddie” Speir. All six will have to be confirmed by the Florida Senate.
“As Governor DeSantis stated in his second inaugural speech: ‘We must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth.’ Starting today, the ship is turning around,” DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin told The Daily Caller. “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.”
“It is our hope that New College of Florida will become Florida’s classical college, more along the lines of a Hillsdale of the South,” added the governor’s chief of staff James Uthmeier.
Last year, I outlined my theory of action in a speech at Hillsdale College entitled "Laying Siege to the Institutions."https://t.co/PtSIasEdCN
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 6, 2023
In the coming weeks, I’ll be visiting New College of Florida with our landing team. In the meantime, I’d love to connect with any faculty, staff, and students who are excited about the coming transformation. Reach me directly at [email protected].
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 6, 2023
NCF is currently deeply enmeshed in left-wing ideology, from its diversity-focused Office of Inclusive Excellence, to its “Gender Identity Affirmation Resources,” to its Gender Studies program which includes “Women’s and Feminist Studies; Gender and Sexuality Studies; Queer and Trans Studies; and Masculinity Studies”; and intersecting with “it also intersects with interdisciplinary fields including Cultural, Ethnic, and Africana Studies.
The language appears to invoke the doctrine of “intersectionality,” the contention that the interests of the political Left’s various racial, sexual, and gender-based factions are all interdependent, from abortion “access” to the LGBT agenda to wealth redistribution to criminal justice “reform” to illegal immigration.
Friday’s announcement follows through on the promises DeSantis made in his second inaugural address Tuesday to continue getting ideological-proselytization out of public education and more thoroughly make Florida the place “where woke goes to die.”
He has taken numerous actions to prohibit critical race theory and age-inappropriate sexual discussions from classrooms and help elect like-minded conservatives to local school boards, as well as force compliance with state standards such as keeping restrooms sex-specific. This record has contributed to his popularity as a potential contender for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination.