University of Florida

Our Amicus Brief Against Florida's Stop WOKE Act

by Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder

"The Supreme Court’s rejection of affirmative action in college admissions will provoke widespread debate. But not in the classrooms of Florida’s public colleges and universities, because the Stop WOKE Act prohibits it."

"Call" and "Meeting" are the Big Blocks on Ben Sasse's Schedule as U of Florida President

Many students and faculty are questioning where the University of Florida's high-profile new president stands on the changes pushed on higher education in the state. His public calendar won't offer too many clues. 

Florida's College Presidents Should Speak Up or Quit

by Robert Birnbaum

A former top executive at a public university says that few circumstances justify college presidents breaking silence on public policy. One is when politicians interfere with the work of professionals when it comes to the content of research and teaching. If Florida's public college presidents can't speak out, they should resign. 

Inside the Bombshell Proposal for the University of Florida's Hamilton Center

The center was proposed through an end-run around faculty governance and pushed by influential lobbyists committed to fighting supposed "ideological uniformity" on campus. Is it a partisan invasion or a nonpartisan effort at civic education? 

U of Florida Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in Process that Selected Sen. Sasse as President

The vote of the representative body was 67-15. A faculty member of the search committee addressed the senate and denied any pressure to name Sasse. 

Sasse Visit to U of Florida Dogged by Protests

Sasse was cagey about his thoughts on legislation like Florida's "Stop WOKE" act and suggested he would be vigilant against "indoctrination" in the classroom. Faculty questioned his commitment to tenure and student protesters decried what they saw as a partisan political appointment. 

Higher Ed Reacts to Ben Sasse's U of Florida Presidential Prospects

Supporters have praised Sasse's vision for transforming higher education institutions, while detractors have questioned whether he is interested in resisting or enabling the politicization of Florida's universities and whether he's familiar enough with high-level research universities.

The Attack on Public Higher Ed is Part of Right's War on Independent Expertise

by Brendan Cantwell and Barrett J. Taylor

While culture war flareups get media attention, two education professors argue that the right is going further, attacking the idea that public universities should operate outside of partisan political control. 

The Academic Freedom Crisis at the University of Florida

An investigation documents the way that academic freedom has been subordinated to the presumed interests of the State of Florida (as aggressively determined by the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis). 

DeSantis Planned Sweeping Assault on Autonomy of Public Colleges in Florida

by Jason Garcia

The Governor proposed a sweeping set of higher education oversight reforms that would have consolidated power over public campuses, including the hiring of professors, with boards appointed by the governor. 

Faculty Committee: U of Florida Fast-Tracked DeSantis Surgeon General Pick Into Faculty Post

The university’s faculty committee cited procedural irregularities in how Florida's Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo gained a tenured position.

"I Swore an Oath": Professor's Plea to Testify Against the State of Florida

The University of Florida claimed it was a conflict of interest for Michael McDonald to work as a paid consultant on a voting rights case while on the UF payroll. But he wasn't allowed to take unpaid leave to testify. 

Recent Actions by the University of Florida are Part of a Long History of Collusion Against Faculty

The Johns Committee of the 1950s and 1960s investigated UF faculty on behalf of the Florida legislature. Their brief was to connect communism and the civil rights movement; they ended up engineering the firing of 15 professors for their sexual orientation.

Florida Judge (Mostly) Sides with Faculty in UF Speech Dispute

Judge Mark E. Walker compared the university's restriction of faculty testimony as expert witnesses in cases involving voting rights and mask mandates to the recent crackdowns by Hong Kong's pro-Beijing government. 

Faculty Report: UF Faculty Felt Outside Pressure to Destroy Data in COVID Research

"Faculty at UF Health expressed concerns over funding being in jeopardy if they did not adopt the state’s stance on pandemic regulations in opinion articles, the report says."

‘It Just Felt Wrong’: U. of Florida Faculty Say Political Fears Stalled an Initiative on Race

Faculty in the College of Education contend that University of Florida administrators are holding up the establishment of a concentration for doctoral students in the study of race and ethnicity in education, due to political pressure. 

U. of Florida Dean Says He Was Directed to Reject Professor’s Request to Testify Against the State

by Emma Pettit

His remarks suggest that the decision to bar professors from testifying against the state may have come from the top of UF. 

Despite Administration Reversal, Faculty Suit against U of Florida Goes Forward

The professors claim that while the adminstration reversed itself as a matter of discretion, its "unconstituitonal" policy on conflicts of interest remains in place and threatens faculty's First Amendment rights. 

UF Reverses Course; Profs can Testify in Voting Rights Suit

Attorneys representing the professors said they were still planning to move forward with a lawsuit against the university.

Serwer: Florida Silencing Academic Critics of Disenfranchisement Echoes End of Reconstruction

Free speech debates miss a key point: some participants don't want to protect the right to speak as much as the right of the state to use its power to end political arguments. The role of Black Floridians as citizens was once such an argument, and disenfranchisement ended it.