In 2023 New College of Florida President Richard Corcoran demanded a change to the school’s mascot.
And here’s one of the ideas Corcoran floated as a fitting nickname for a great mascot: “Conquistadors.”
“Conquistadors” has since become a nickname used by alumni to describe the out-of-state ideologues and unqualified Tallahassee political hacks who currently run New College.
Indeed, the word “conquistadors” is an accurate reflection of how Corcoran and his crew see themselves, with all of their military descriptions of being ‘over the wall” and “storming the ivory tower” at New College.
But here’s the thing: throughout history, the conquistadors were terrible administrators.
Few accomplishments
As another school year begins, it’s clear Corcoran and the New College Board of Trustees are no closer to accomplishing any of the things they promised two years ago.
In fact, the gap has only grown wider.
They claimed repeatedly that they were in Sarasota and at New College of Florida to create the “best liberal arts school” in America – the “Hillsdale College of the South.”
But contrary to the hype, New College isn’t any less “woke” – and it isn’t any more conservative either.
The school does, however, cost taxpayers a whole lot more money to operate these days, and much less of the money is going toward academics.
For example, alumni groups not associated with the college’s foundation have been trying to fund the shortfall in student research grants that’s resulted because of a lack of money allocated to the program.
And now that we can see New College’s latest factbook and accountability plan, something else is clear:
After all of their flashy declarations of victory – and after spending tens of millions in additional, Florida Legislature-approved taxpayer cash – all Corcoran and his crew have created is a product that no one wants to buy.
Athlete transfers keep New College afloat
The number of the all-important “first time in college” students at New College is effectively unchanged from before the 2023 conservative takeover overseen by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Meanwhile, the number of transfer students exceeds 34% – and the number of athletes surpasses 60%.
So what do these numbers mean?
They mean that Corcoran really needs to build that new baseball stadium on airport land – because without athletics transfers, New College of Florida would be a ghost town.
Sadly, even with promises of playing time for athletes and incredibly generous scholarships for numerous students, New College’s admissions and retention efforts have been unsuccessful with its target audiences.
And what little enrollment growth it has earned has come by compromising its academic standards.
Scrambling to shake off doldrums
This might be acceptable during a transition period, but two years later we have still failed to see a credible business plan to get New College out of its doldrums and into a sustainable growth pattern.
Corcoran has had to reshuffle his administration to move Kevin Hoeft to a newly created chief student retention officer position because New College’s retention numbers are so abysmal.
Similarly, Corcoran needs to keep pushing for a merger with USF Sarasota/Manatee and the Ringling Museum of Art.
Why? It’s because he’s done little with the money that’s been allocated to New College by Tallahassee – and also has precious little to show for it.
The fact is Corcoran needs Ringling’s money and USF Sarasota-Manatee’s buildings.
Galling results
Such developments are particularly galling because alums like me – people who have spent years working with New College’s Alumni Association and volunteering for its foundation – would have been delighted if the “old” New College had received the cash infusion Corcoran obtained and fumbled away.
We knew New College was competing for students with quality liberal-arts schools like Reed College and Amherst College.
We also knew our deteriorating academic buildings and dormitories were barriers to growth.
We would have used taxpayer funds carefully and judiciously to grow New College of Florida as the true Honors College that it used to be.
And we would not have turned it into the paragon of mediocrity it has become under Richard Corcoran’s inept presidency.
But today’s New College has become more disorganized, less competitive and less distinguishable as the Honors College it purports to be.
Throwing away money, goodwill
For example, dorm space continues to be a problem at New College.
Yet Corcoran has waffled for more than two years: he’s neither restored the historic I.M. Pei-designed dormitories on East Campus nor made headway on the construction of new dormitories.
The temporary, portable dorms brought in by Corcoran – at great taxpayer expense – are currently being crushed up and hauled away in dumpsters.
Currently, the school only has beds for roughly 45% of its students – but it has redefined off-campus dorms and hotels as “on campus” to steer attention away from the severity of the problem.
So what have we received for all of the money New College has been getting?
Well, we have gotten a lot of highly paid administrators for one: the number of New College employees per student is double that of the nearest state school, Florida Polytechnic University.
There are plenty of hired consultants at New College.
There are more athletic coaches at New College (though fewer study spaces for students, as well).
And, of course, the president now has a private cigar bar.
Maybe that’s why – in the face of donor lawsuits and very public board resignations – the head of the New College Foundation recently had to write a Herald-Tribune guest column boasting about how the Foundation’s mission is grounded in trust.
It was the type of column that a nonprofit usually puts out when people no longer have trust in it.
Unfortunately, the “Conquistadors of New College” are not merely throwing away the state’s money – they are also squandering whatever goodwill they have left in our community.
William Rosenberg is president of the Novo Collegian Alliance and a 1980 graduate of New College of Florida.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Wasted money and unqualified hacks: The reign of Richard Corcoran at New College | Opinion
Reporting by William Rosenberg Guest columnist / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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