Professors at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus said they are worried about their future after recently released documents by New College of Florida shed light on the smaller, liberal arts school’s plans to take over USF’s nearby land, dorms and building facilities.
On Thursday morning, the USF Sarasota-Manatee faculty council called an emergency meeting with the interim chancellor, Brett Kemker, to share their fears and seek clarity on what has so far been a secretive and unsettling process.
Negotiations have not been held publicly, and no official announcement has been made about a merger or takeover, but rumors of one have been swirling for months. They were only recently confirmed by Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, who said a number of scenarios are under consideration, with a New College merger leading the way.
RELATED: Emails detail plans to ‘transfer’ USF Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College
On Tuesday, a public records request by WUSF revealed New College had already written a press release, talking points memo and a question-and-answer sheet about a “transfer” of the 32-acre USF campus, where 2,000 students attend and some 250 staff work. Those documents were shared among New College leaders in January and quoted Kemker, New College President Richard Corcoran and USF President Rhea Law as praising the deal.
“Our faculty are extremely anxious, nervous. Our students are anxious about whether they should even enroll in the fall, if the campus won't be there,” said Scott Perry, an associate professor of history at USF Sarasota-Manatee and vice president of the faculty Senate.
Perry was at the emergency meeting, along with about 20 others. He said USF leadership dismissed the New College statements as "propaganda."
"The understanding that they have is that all of this was generated by, and completely in the interest of, New College of Florida and had nothing to do with Dr. Kemker. Dr. Kemker said he has not actually met Richard Corcoran in person," Perry said.
Kemker did not respond to a request for comment. A USF spokeswoman said in an email: "This morning’s conversation was a private meeting with the faculty council, and we are not going to share the details of our discussions."
Kemker said he plans to meet with Law soon, according to Perry, but beyond that, it's unclear what happens next.
"Several of us asked for a direct statement from the university as a whole about the fact that this is propaganda, if it's true, and that we have no intention of being merged into New College. We did not receive an affirmative statement that that was going to happen," Perry said.
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Law announced in mid-February that she would be stepping down after a search for a successor is complete.
New College has shifted in a conservative direction in the past two years after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed new members to the board, revamped its curriculum and fired its former president.
There is also talk of New College taking over stewardship of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, which is currently managed by Florida State University.
According to the Florida Trident, Gruters said the impetus for the takeover is a consolidation of what he called duplicative administrative services at New College and USF Sarasota-Manatee.
“You have campuses back-to-back there with Ringling in the middle,” Gruters told The Trident. “I think the unification of the two or three campuses in that area makes sense.”
Another USF professor, who requested anonymity because he is worried about losing his job for speaking out, said fear is widespread on campus.
“It's difficult for us to understand what the intention of university leadership is, what exactly they're going to do to support us,” he said. “Most of the communication on this we've received has come from news organizations, and if faculty had greater communication from leadership, we would have a better understanding of what is likely to take place and how we can plan our future.”
The documents New College shared among top staff said that those working at USF could take jobs at New College or shift to the USF St. Petersburg or Tampa campuses.
“New College is also a very different university than the University of South Florida is, and for many of us, it would be a monumental career setback,” the USF professor said. “Sarasota is also a long commute to Tampa or St Pete, and it may not be possible for many faculty to make that transition for personal or other reasons.”
This story was reported and written by WUSF reporter Kerry Sheridan and edited by Emily Le Coz, Executive Editor-in-Chief of Suncoast Searchlight, an independent non-profit newsroom based in Sarasota. This was done to ensure editorial independence.
WUSF broadcasts from studios at the University of South Florida, including one on its Sarasota-Manatee campus, which is the subject of this story. Its broadcast license also is held by USF.
No USF or WUSF officials, or WUSF news managers reviewed this story before it was published.
