Negative consequences of legislation directed at state universities

Mike Martin and Gail McClure
·2 min read
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Florida’s Board of Governors (BOG), which oversees the State University System’s 12 universities, is in the process of clarifying and implementing Senate Bill 266 (SB 266).

This piece of policy effectively undoes programs on campuses that support commitments to “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI). And limits free speech by students and faculty.

Gov. Ron DeSantis talks during his bill signing ceremony for legislation impacting the state's colleges and universities on May 15 at Sarasota's New College of Florida.
Gov. Ron DeSantis talks during his bill signing ceremony for legislation impacting the state's colleges and universities on May 15 at Sarasota's New College of Florida.

It is a jarring 180-degree turn by the BOG which in 2020 issued a report which directed universities to make DEI a strategic priority. That report was authored by the current BOG chair.

As SB 266 is implemented, there is a rather glaring potential negative consequence that has either been overlooked or completely ignored by those driving this radical change in course. It seems likely Florida’s colleges and universities will now be ineligible to receive grants from the nation’s largest and most prominent private foundations.

Foundations like Ford, Rockefeller, Robert Wood Johnson, Kellogg, Knight, MacArthur, Kresge, Mellon, and many more require a commitment to DEI from grant applicants and/or they clearly indicate DEI is a core value that guides their giving. It may be that even certain divisions of the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be off limits to Florida’s colleges and universities and their faculties.

The prestigious American Association of Universities (AAU) has strong statements that articulate the expectation that members are committed to DEI and to free speech on their campuses. Similar expectations are shared by the Fulbright Program.

All this could impact students and faculty through the loss of many opportunities. It could reduce funding to support scholarship and research. And it will put Florida higher education at a disadvantage relative to other state systems.

All wars, including cultural wars, result in collateral damage. Florida State University System universities may end up being a victim of this damage.

It’s unclear if legislators, their staff, BOG members, the SUS chancellor or his staff researched these possible outcomes as SB 266 moved through the process. If not, someone should have. Perhaps it would have turned out just as it has. But the public should have been informed so as to have offered opinions by and for those directly adversely impacted.

Finally, the Florida Constitution (Article 9, Section 7d) directs that the BOG “shall operate, regulate, control and be fully responsible for the management of the whole university system.” If, indeed, the SUS institutions are truly adversely affected by SB 266, can and will the BOG step up to mitigate these effects?

We shall all see.

Mike Martin is a retired veteran of more than five decades in public higher education that included six years as Florida Gulf Coast University president. Gail McClure is a retired V.P. at the Kellogg Foundation and senior advisor to NSF.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Negative consequences of legislation directed at state universities