New College of Florida Trustees OK request for $2 million for funding 'Freedom Institute'

SARASOTA — New College of Florida's trustees approved a salary-plus-benefits range of up to $1.5 million for the president they intend to name later this summer, and agreed to ask state lawmakers for $2 million to establish a "Freedom Institute" at the small honors liberal arts college undergoing a dramatic makeover.

The school's Board of Trustees approved the recommended salary range, which was provided to a search committee by third-party consulting firm Mercer, as the leadership speeds through the process of hiring a permanent president for the transforming college before late August.

NCF'S vice president of finance & administration, Chris Kinsley, also led a discussion and recommended approval of a July 14 deadline to enter a funding request queue for the 2024 state legislative session that begins in January for the Freedom Institute, a new project proposed by the administration to create campus strategies to combat "cancel culture."

According to Interim President Richard Corcoran, most of the money would go toward hiring faculty and staff to offer courses to students and the public. Courses taught by the new faculty members would be offered to students for credit.

The proposed institute would promote “tolerance of opposing views” and “engage such views in civil discourse,” according to a description of the institute included in the trustees’ meeting agenda, the News Service of Florida reported.

“There is a tremendous move nationwide to ensure that our college campuses are true marketplaces of ideas, where you can allow your mind to explore the great reaches of everything,” Corcoran said. “And right now there is a tremendous cancel culture that is existing in higher ed. There’s a tremendous pushback against that cancel culture.”

According to board documents, the institute would offer “short courses open to the public in Sarasota and across Florida,” hold live events “promoting New College’s and Florida’s free speech principles” and “create and deliver professional development programs” for school teachers and university professors.

Pointing to similar programs at other universities, Corocran said the proposed New College Freedom Institute could help net new donors and enhance the school’s profile.

“In addition to that, to go out there and hit up additional donor bases saying, what we’re doing to model free speech — whether it’s in K-12 arenas, higher-ed arenas, whatever it might be — in boardrooms … and going out and having it flourish nationwide, would be a tremendous benefit in attracting additional experts, speakers, debates to come to New College,” Corcoran said.

Kinsley cited the need to make the funding request early.

"You have to make special plea with legislators for funding if you don't request or get into the queue, which is not where you want to be," Kinsley said.

Another $6 million funding plan was also included in the proposed legislative budget request for money for three new proposed graduate programs at the campus — Master of Marine Science, Master of Environmental and Economic Policy, and Master of Educational Leadership.

According to the proposal from the meeting agenda, New College Master’s of Educational Leadership would "help reform the problems with undergraduate education degrees, serve as a new home for education reformers, and lead the development of new approaches to educating educators."

The two separate votes were nearly unanimously approved by the trustees with two dissenting votes cast by Grace Keenan and New College Faculty Chair Amy Reid, who expressed concerns over the speed at which the search and salary discussions were moving.

Meanwhile, a rumored 'handshake' deal between Corcoran and the owner of the Sarasota Classic Car Museum was confirmed in the meeting, as Corcoran revealed that the institution will soon take over 7,000 square feet of the museum following the school's order to vacate the property which was given in mid-June.

According to Corcoran, New College will have access to the agreed-upon square footage of the nearly 55,000-square-foot complex by July 10. Corcoran stated that the space will be used to fast-track and build out 4,000 square feet of new office space for the college and another 3,000 square feet of new gym space for administrators and faculty.

The Herald-Tribune reached out to the Sarasota Classic Car Museum, which is across from New College at 5500 N. Tamiami Trail, but was unable to reach an owner for comment. According to the museum's phone message, it will remain open through the next few months of construction and is expected to be there until October.

This report includes material from the News Service of Florida.

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: NCF new president salary to be a 'benchmark' for transforming college