Florida Is Absorbing a Public Campus: Texas Should Recognize the Warning
Florida lawmakers are considering transferring the Sarasota–Manatee campus of the University of South Florida to the already politicized New College of Florida. Framed as an administrative “solution,” the proposal would dismantle a functioning public campus within an AAU-member university system and subordinate it to an institution reshaped through overt political intervention. Faculty leaders have rightly called it what it is: a forced institutional absorption that sidelines students, erodes faculty governance, and ignores community need in favor of ideological consolidation.
This is not a Florida-only story. It is the next step in a governance strategy Texans already know. In Texas, SB 17 eliminated DEI offices and normalized anticipatory compliance occurring ahead of the bill becoming law. SB 37 went further, stripping faculty senates of authority statewide and hollowing out shared governance. Florida is now demonstrating what comes after. Once equity infrastructure is dismantled and faculty governance weakened, entire campuses become expendable—their assets reassigned, missions rewritten, and futures decided without public deliberation—and thusly, without meaningful consent.
New College’s leadership and Ron DeSantis praise the transfer as efficient and “significant.” But efficiency here means cannibalization. Sarasota–Manatee serves a commuter, working-class, place-bound student population. Ending new admissions and redirecting students elsewhere is not continuity; it is managed decline. Texas higher-education advocates should read this clearly: SB 17 and SB 37 did not end with offices and bylaws—they cleared the ground for structural takeovers of the kind we just learned about happening at UT-Austin this week (Valenzuela, 2026).
Florida is testing how far a state can go once democratic safeguards are weakened. If this transfer proceeds, it will confirm the lesson Texas is already learning. When DEI offices and equity are reframed as illegitimate and faculty governance is sidelined, no campus is safe. I sense that what Florida is doing today is not a detour, but a blueprint.
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UPDATED 5:46 PM ET Jan. 26, 2026 PUBLISHED 3:15 PM ET Jan. 26, 2026
SARASOTA, Fla. — A proposal in Tallahassee could change the future of higher education in Sarasota.
Lawmakers are considering transferring University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee to New College of Florida — a plan that supporters say would strengthen New College, while critics warn it could hurt students at USF.
What You Need To Know
Lawmakers are considering transferring USF Sarasota-Manatee to New College of Florida
This isn’t the first time there have been talks about a transfer
If passed, USF Sarasota-Manatee properties and facilities would be transferred to New College of Florida by July 1. Current students would have to continue their education at either the Tampa or St. Pete campus
The proposal will now move through the legislative process where lawmakers would have to approve the transfer
This isn’t the first time there have been talks of transferring USF Sarasota-Manatee to New College of Florida. Spectrum News spoke with the Vice President of USF’s Faculty Senate, who said they fought a similar effort last year, and they weren’t expecting it to come back up.
“This would be a forceable eviction of our faculty, staff, and students by this summer,” said Scott Perry.
His feelings are clear about the proposed transfer of USF Sarasota-Manatee to New College of Florida. He has taught there for 19 years and is the vice president of USF’s Faculty Senate. He said the campus means a lot to its students and community.
“We have a very strong, active community group of supporters who really want these programs. We have 40 undergraduate programs. We’re an AAU accredited university,” said Perry.
If passed, USF Sarasota-Manatee properties and facilities would be transferred to New College of Florida by July 1. Current students would have to continue their education at either the Tampa or St. Pete campus. At a December Board of Trustees meeting, Richard Corcoran, president of New College, called Gov. Ron DeSantis' transfer plan “significant," saying it solves a lot of problems.
“That’s going to go through the legislative process, his budget is a recommendation, but I’ll say he’s been a tremendous advocate for New College and what’s going on here, so we feel pretty good about that,” said Corcoran.
At a press conference in Pinellas County on Jan. 14, DeSantis said leadership agreed the transfer would be good for New College and that USF’s momentum is in Tampa Bay.
“We’ve been supportive of it," DeSantis. "I think what they’ve been able to accomplish in such a short period of time — think about it — you were in the class and now they’re saying something different. It’s almost like you go to the Naval Academy and then they shift to Coast Guard. Well, that’s not what you signed up for,” said DeSantis.
Perry said forcing a transfer isn’t what USF Sarasota-Manatee students signed up for, and he thinks it could be the end of many of their educations if passed.
“If they live in Venice or North Port, they already drive an hour to get to our campus. If they were told you can take your classes in Tampa and St. Pete, that’s another hour drive, so I think for many of our students it would be the end of their college career,” said Perry.
The proposal will now move through the legislative process where lawmakers would have to approve the transfer.
Perry says the Student Government Associations at all three USF campuses put together a resolution saying they oppose the transfer.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story contained a quote from the USF Vice President of Faculty Senate, saying students may have to transfer campuses to finish out degrees. USF Sarasota-Manatee has since reached out saying that was incorrect. In a statement, USF Manager of Media Relations Ryan Hughes said: "Students currently enrolled would be able to continue taking classes and finish their program at the Sarasota-Manatee campus if this legislation is passed. We would not admit or enroll any new students if the legislation is approved."
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