Campuses under relentless conservative attack

Florida public colleges and universities are in trouble. Gov. Ron DeSantis and his conservative allies are attacking tenure, academic freedom and institutional quality and working to impose authoritarian state control of all aspects of public higher education.

Surveillance of faculty, students and staff through illegitimate annual surveys and censorship of conversations about systemic racism — demonized as “wokeness” — inhibit open classroom discussion and degrade learning. To intimidate accrediting teams from investigating undue political influence in higher education, all institutions must change accreditors. Presidential searches are now conducted in secret; thus faculty, student and public participation is virtually eliminated.

Despite protests from faculty and others, the Board of Governors is considering a rule to effectively destroy tenure and thus due process and academic freedom in Florida public universities by restricting tenure decisions to administrators and trustees without academic backgrounds and subject to political influence. Conservatives are politicizing higher education while they deceptively accuse faculty of doing so.

DeSantis recently appointed six new trustees at New College of Florida in Sarasota, several of whom want to transform it in reactionary and outdated directions. In response, faculty, students and alumni of New College are organizing in support of their nationally renowned liberal arts college. Through their union, the United Faculty of Florida, and other organizations, faculty and others are organizing to support higher education across Florida and around the countr,y where similar battles continue.

Mike Budd, Boca Raton

The author is a retired FAU faculty member and member of the United Faculty of Florida.