No heroes at UF: University 'leaders' won't stand up to Gov. Ron DeSantis

The unfortunate kowtowing of University of Florida administrators to state officials makes one wonder if there are any heroes left out there. Heroes like attorney Joseph Welch, who in his historic faceoff with red-baiting Sen. Joe McCarthy, finally said, in effect, enough, by asking, "Have you no sense of decency?"

Closer to home and more recently, Chesterfield Smith, a UF Law graduate, while president of the American Bar Association, called for a special prosecutor in the Watergate era. He had voted for Richard Nixon twice but echoed the words of Teddy Roosevelt by stating that “no man is above the law.” Smith was willing to withstand the blowback.

Clearly, Gov. Ron DeSantis has no sense of decency and will do anything to appeal to the worst values in people. Rather than lead people to embrace the moral high ground, he encourages people to wallow in the mud of racism, homophobia and xenophobia. Rather than ask people to be better, he asks them to be worse, much worse.

Sadly, among his staunchest enforcers are UF administrators, particularly President Kent Fuchs, Provost Joe Glover and Law School Dean Laura Rosenbury. Rather than stand up against a bully, as did Welch and Smith, these “leaders” cowered. Any one of them could have been a hero in the world of higher education if they had simply said, "I will resign before I follow the orders of a despot."

At the height of the COVID crisis, faculty were allowed to teach remotely, but only after being required to teach for a period in person. I know — I was one of many who got that message.

In the next year, while other universities required masks — a small price to pay, perhaps to save a few lives — UF did not require masks. Fuchs, Glover and Rosenbury were just trying to keep Florida's McCarthy happy. And then, when professors were asked to testify as expert witnesses, they all folded again.

When DeSantis' bizarre choice for surgeon general appeared to have needed a little extra dough, he was appointed to UF College of Medicine and the regular search committee process was bypassed. Such technicalities seem of little importance to university bigwigs, especially when they want to please the governor.

So, what is left after the collapse of moral leadership by UF’s administration? For one thing, a very dispirited faculty.

A recent survey showed that over 60% would like to leave. Over half were worried about academic freedom and 74% doubted the Board of Governors has much interest in protecting the university from outside political influence. About 70% doubt the new president will be selected on the basis of advancing academic and scholarly interests.

No one knows yet whether the shame brought on by hapless administrators will have an impact on the university’s ranking. It seems almost certain, though, that it has not been enhanced.

That is not the worst news. A greater danger may lie ahead. The next president, who will ultimately be determined by DeSantis and his defenders on the search committee, may be a true believer. And those true beliefs likely include teaching “real” American history, making sure LGBTQ issues are taboo and that no one should lend their expertise to a cause not supported by the governor.

Jeffrey L. Harrison is Huber C. Hurst Eminent Scholar Emeritus at the UF College of Law.

Join the conversation

Share your opinion by sending a letter to the editor (up to 200 words) to letters@gainesville.com. Letters must include the writer's full name and city of residence. Additional guidelines for submitting letters and longer guest columns can be found at bit.ly/sunopinionguidelines.

Journalism matters. Your support matters.

Get a digital subscription to the Gainesville Sun. Includes must-see content on Gainesville.com and Gatorsports.com, breaking news and updates on all your devices, and access to the eEdition. Visit www.gainesville.com/subscribenow to sign up.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Jeffrey L. Harrison: UF 'leaders' won't stand up to Gov. Ron DeSantis