Three more DeSantis allies to take the helm of public universities in Florida

[In It to Win It]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The state board that oversees Florida’s public universities has confirmed three more allies of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to become university presidents.

It's a move supporters say will grant the schools the political capital to secure critical state funding and navigate a rapidly shifting legal landscape, and one that critics see as another sign that alignment with the governor's conservative education agenda has become a prerequisite for academic leadership in the state.

The elevation of two Republican former lawmakers and a lobbyist comes after the state Board of Governors rejected the nomination of a longtime academic to lead the University of Florida, amid conservative backlash against his past support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs that board members viewed as unacceptable liberal ideology.

With the appointments approved Wednesday, five of the state’s 12 public universities will be led by former Republican lawmakers or lobbyists, a move that will help bolster DeSantis' legacy in higher education that could long outlast his time in office.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/three-more-desantis-allies-helm-211653140.html

[Timeflyer]

1. USA, be grateful DeSantis only controls Florida. Stay alert in your state. It'll take decades to repair his damage.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, on FL, Sept. 1, 2024.
"Florida could start looking a lot like Hungary," noted New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg in Feb 2023., writing about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's quest to restructure higher education in line with his far-right views. Although many GOP politicians have made pilgrimages to Budapest to proclaim their alignment with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's repressive policies, DeSantis has been arguably the most aggressive adopter of Hungarian-style restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights and attacks on higher education."

..."As the GOP transforms into an autocratic entity allied with foreign far-right parties and governments, it's worth understanding how Orbán and other illiberal leaders target universities. They don't only shut down intellectual freedom and change the content of learning to reinforce their ideological agendas, but also seek to remake higher education institutions into places that reward intolerance, conformism, and other values and behaviors authoritarians require."