South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
New College says PR hire gets paid $15,000 a month
Ex-DeSantis spokeswoman brought in to remake school
TALLAHASSEE — As Gov. Ron DeSantis transforms New College of Florida into a bastion of conservatism, the school has hired a longtime political ally of the governor and its president, Richard Corcoran, to do promotional videos and other public relations work.
A spokesperson for the liberal arts school with about 700 students said Tuesday the university has been paying TMF Communications $15,000 a month since last July. It’s a Tallahassee-based company headed by Taryn Fenske, a former spokesperson for both the governor’s office and an affiliated super PAC that supported DeSantis’ presidential campaign.
Fenske’s involvement in promoting the public school is another example of how Corcoran is bringing allies to remake the liberal arts institution as they zero in on what he and DeSantis have claimed as “woke indoctrination” on college campuses. Before the takeover, the Sarasota school had a reputation for being one of the most progressive public universities in Florida.
In a statement, Fenske said she wants to showcase how the school has “become a beacon of higher education for the nation,” and praised Corcoran’s leadership at the university, saying he has “orchestrated a transformation that even skeptics can’t ignore.”
It’s also the latest instance in which the public university has drawn attention for its use of public funds. The new administration has awarded a campus cafe contract to a vendor
with ties to Corcoran, and Corcoran has been criticized for having a salary package of up to $1.3 million a year with benefits, more than double the amount the previous university president earned.
Corcoran is one of the highest-paid public university leaders in Florida.
Fenske’s work has included the production of videos. One, titled “The Future of Higher Education,” features a comment from comedian Bill Maher, who at one point says that “higher education has become indoctrination.”
In another video, titled “Apply Today,” the school is promoted as one that has “professors who actually teach” and a “contract that demands accountability.”
New College of Florida spokesperson Nathan March said the school hired Fenske to help him with “internal and external communications and marketing” after a “significant increase in demand from local, national, and global news outlets” following DeSantis’ push to transform the school.
“TMF has supported external communications in both proactive and reactive capacities across various media formats, and has been a great resource for New College throughout
this time where the media spotlight has been brightest,” March said.
Since Corcoran took the helm at the university, DeSantis has touted his efforts in replacing “far-left faculty with new professors aligned with the university’s mission” and eliminating the college’s diversity office.
In campaign speeches during the presidential campaign, DeSantis often talked about the efforts at the school to promote himself as someone who was combating “woke ideology” in education.
Fenske also served as a spokeswoman in the Florida Department of Education when Corcoran, a former Republican Florida speaker of the House, headed the state agency as the state’s education commissioner.
Most recently, Fenkse’s company was paid $90,000 to do communications work for Never Back Down, the super PAC that supported DeSantis’ presidential campaign, according to federal campaign filings. Fenske also served as a spokesperson for a separate pro-DeSantis super PAC, Fight Right.
Prior to joining the DeSantis administration, she worked as the Republican National Committee’s Florida communications director.