Professors' union sanctions Florida college over 'political' DeSantis takeover
Vote to sanction New College comes after investigation on Desantiss politically, racially, and ideologically motivated attacks
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/27/professor-union-sanction-florida-new-college-desantis
By Nina Lakhani @ninalakhani Tue 27 Feb 2024 14.12 EST
A national university professors union has voted to sanction New College of Florida, the former liberal arts school where Ron DeSantis orchestrated an unprecedented aggressively ideological and politically motivated takeover by a group of ultra-conservative cronies.
The vote to sanction New College came after an investigation by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which has placed only 12 other universities on its sanctioned list since 1995.
The AAUP created a special committee to investigate the apparent pattern of politically, racially, and ideologically motivated attacks on public higher education by DeSantis, the far-right Florida governor who waged war on so-called wokeness at schools and colleges after his resounding re-election in 2022.
The investigation was launched in January 2023 after DeSantis appointed six allies to the schools board of trustees, which in breakneck speed restructured academic courses without meaningful faculty involvement, eliminated the gender studies major, and cancelled a slew of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including canceling meals during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims.
FULL story at link above.