Legislative update: June 3, 2025
We hope that you will review the info below and then adapt the provided template to let legislators know you are still watching and you are still concerned about New College’s future, and the need for the legislature to take action to preserve New College’s academic quality in spite of Richard Corcoran’s mismanagement.
It’s going to be a big next 2 weeks for the Florida legislature, and could mean big changes for New College of Florida.
As the NCA discussed last month, the current budget does not include any new money for New College, which puts college president Richard Corcoran in a rough financial spot. Last year he received $15 million in non-recurring funds, which covered costs that he is now hard-pressed to manage without, most notably temporary student housing and scholarships.
Housing: short-sighted spending on temporary housing.
Almost $6 million towards temporary student housing in hotels, which he has already contracted for, so if he doesn’t get additional legislative funds he would need to make some big cuts to cover that $6 million for student housing – if the funds could even be used to pay for this temporary student housing. At most schools, student housing is an auxiliary which is required to be self-funding or use private funds, but cannot use education and general (E&G) dollars without special dispensation – so again, Corcoran would be in a very tight spot to figure out how to pay for student housing with special funds from the legislature. It is too bad that Corcoran didn’t start building new dorms two years ago – by now, the roughly $20 million he’s spent on student housing could have built 150-250 new dorm beds, given the range of building new dorms in Florida is between $80k per bed to $150k per bed.
Scholarships in jeopardy.
For fiscal year 2024-2025, New College spent approximately $10 million on student scholarships, which included $2 million of non-recurring dollars earmarked for scholarships. These scholarships have been used to give students full rides to New College regardless of academic merit, as seen by the plummeting SATs of incoming students: before Corcoran took over the SATs averaged 1240, but for the last 2 years since Corcoran took over they have been 1150.
Corcoran noted at the February 2025 New College Foundation meeting that if he does not receive extra funds from the legislature, he might have to look to the Foundation to help cover that $2 million in scholarships – but the Foundation funds are already stretched to their limit and encumbered with donor restrictions, so it’s unclear where another $2 million would come from without long-term harm to the college’s small endowment. This is of special interest to the fiscally-minded given the allegations that donations at the Foundation have been misused and the ongoing use of Foundation monies for Corcoran’s salary and athletics programs that the College can’t otherwise fund.
Corcoran may still be trying to finagle Ringling and USF Sarasota-Manatee.
There is also still the open question of whether Corcoran is going to push the legislature to give him the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus and/or the Ringling Museum, which could conceivably be included in the appropriations bill in some shape or form. Gaining either campus would allow Corcoran to shift the goal post in what success at New College looks like, which might be a priority for him given his significant problems: his fiscal restraints, the falling academic metrics like graduation rates, retention, and incoming SATs. With recent reporting from WUSF showing more behind the scenes work coming out of USF to support giving New College the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, the question of how much that effort is still alive behind closed doors in Tallahassee remains open. The good news is that talking about Corcoran’s mismanagement and the heavy problems he has brought to New College tends to convince people that giving him USF Sarasota-Manatee or The Ringling would be a bad idea.
What can you do?
NCA’s members who are Florida residents have had good luck in the past getting responses from their elected state representatives in both political parties.
Given that Florida’s legislative committees are meeting this week, it is a great time for Florida residents to contact your legislators to let them know where you stand on the issue of New College’s funding. The special session will be short in length, so the time to act is now!
Remember that earlier in the session, NCAA chair Ben Brown resigned emphasizing concerns of financial mismanagement so that just as Corcoran was headed to Tallahassee to lobby, the media was full of reports about financial and administrative weaknesses in Corcoran’s leadership.
The Novo Collegian Alliance encourages Florida residents to share their concerns with their legislators. To that end, here is an example email (feel free to copy, paste, and adapt!):
Link: Find your senators and representatives here
Hello, my name is _____ and I am a resident of ____.
[If applicable] I am a member of New College of Florida’s alumni body, having graduated in _________.
I have concerns about New College of Florida under Richard Corcoran, and would like to express my support for the legislature demanding better academic outcomes at the honors college.
There has been a steep decline in New College’s academic rigor and metrics, including SAT scores falling from 1230 in 2023 to around 1150 for the last two years since Corcoran took over.
Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on temporary housing for students while Corcoran has not made any progress on building new on-campus housing, which is a waste of resources and poor planning. Corcoran plans to continue this pattern.
I would ask that the legislature hold Corcoran more accountable for improving New College by:
Including academic merit requirements for any additional funds allocated for scholarships.
Before funds are released for temporary student housing, requiring Corcoran to make concrete progress on new dorms being constructed.
More fully investigate why the academic metrics are falling at New College under Richard Corcoran.
I am happy to provide more information or answer questions that [Rep. / Sen. __________ ] may have. Please feel free to contact me at _____________.
Note that NCA is happy to provide technical support in the event any legislator reaches back out to you with interest or a request for information. Contact coordinator@novocollegian.org for more info.
You can also CC or BCC the NCA when you write to your representatives! You can use the coordinator@novocollegian.org email address.
