DeSantis’ College Appointees Like Chris Rufo Show The Battle For America’s Academies Is Far From Over

SARASOTA, Fla. — In early January, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed A group of conservative activists and academics was elected to the New College of Florida’s board of trustees in Sarasota. Some of the individuals nominated to the small liberal art school’s board include Chris Rufo, who has led the charge against the proliferation of critical race theory (CRT) and gender ideology in America’s classrooms and boardrooms; renowned constitutional scholar Charles Kesler; and Matthew Spalding, the current dean of Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Government.

Shortly after the announcement was made, DeSantis’ chief of staff, James Uthmeier, indicated The new trustees will make it a priority to create a curriculum that is specifically for this purpose. “classical” education, giving New College further distinction from the rest of the institutions of higher learning that are currently a part of Florida’s state university system.

Rufo spoke with The Federalist and suggested that New College might embrace classical education to combat the bureaucratic materialist bloat which has become a problem in higher education. Colleges exist. “adopted this kind of empty materialist enterprise that has squashed the more significant spiritual and intellectual enterprise of learning,” He said. “And I think classical schools are really at the forefront of saying, ‘we’ve lost our way, let’s look to the past to try and make a more meaningful present.’ Maybe then we’ll actually have something that matters to people.” 

New College’s approach to learning would become similar to that of classical schools like Hillsdale College in Michigan. Uthmeier stated earlier in the month that New College would be similar to Hillsdale College in Michigan. “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.”

Rufo stressed to The Federalist that New College has struggled to keep its doors open while classical schools like Hillsdale have flourished. “The proof, of course, is that a lot of the small liberal arts colleges are closing down, but the classical schools are getting record enrollment,” He said.

New College has suffered from a lack of progress over the years. Consultants were hired by the school to help. indicated It functions as an echo chamber. “druggies” And “weirdos” The ability to thrive “politically correct” While religious and conservative students are accepted, they are often excluded. Despite their acceptance rate of 74 percent, more than 20 percent of students typically drop out after their first year, and only 53 percent of graduates found employment — earning a median wage of $32,000 — or continued their education one year after graduation, according to a fact sheet shared by Rufo’s team.

The school’s dismal performance, inconsistent enrollment, and inability to grow an incredibly small student body, plus the mishandling of millions of dollars a year — resources that are “just lit on fire” — while refusing to troubleshoot any of the school’s issues had even prompted the state government to try and close it down in order to better redistribute its resources

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