DeSantis Appointee to New College of Florida: Students Should Learn ‘How to Think, Not What to Think’

SARASOTA (FLV) – Dr. Matthew Spalding, a DeSantis appointee to New College of Florida, said his vision is to provide a liberal arts education that “liberate[s] the mind” from “popular ideologies” as students pursue truth.

On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed new leadership at New College of Florida to overhaul the institution’s “equity” ideology for a merit-based approach. He made six appointments, including Spalding. The appointees would need to be approved by the Republican-controlled Florida Senate.

“The very aim of liberal arts education is to liberate the mind from current fads and popular ideologies by inviting students to address these questions in pursuit of the truth about what it means to be fully human,” Spalding said in a statement to Florida’s Voice.

“That pursuit transcends contemporary politics. Such an education teaches one how to think, not what to think. The surging enrollment at my home institution and others like it shows that students hunger for such serious academic inquiry.”

When the governor’s office made the announcement Friday, DeSantis’ Chief of Staff said he hoped that New College of Florida would become Florida’s classical college, similar to Hillsdale College.

Spalding, who is the Kirby Professor in Constitutional Government at Hillsdale College and the Dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C., campus, said New College of Florida will not be a “carbon copy” of another institution.

“I appreciate the complimentary nods to Hillsdale College, but we are not going to serve New College’s mission by remaking it into a carbon copy of another institution,” Spalding said. “In the liberal arts, the college—which means a partnership, one between students and faculty—works together and comes into conversation with great thinkers and writers who’ve asked timeless questions about human purpose, about the good, and justice, and how to live well.”

Spalding said his focus will be to restore New College’s “distinctive mission” as the “residential liberal arts honors college” of Florida.

Christopher Rufo, another appointee to New College of Florida, previously said his goal is to abolish “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and replace it with “equality, merit, and colorblindness.” Rufo is a Senior Fellow for the Manhattan institute, writer, and filmmaker. The governor’s office describes him as one who “led the fight against Critical Race Theory” in American institutions. Rufo has worked with conservative lawmakers to craft legislation, including the “Stop WOKE Act” in Florida.

DeSantis’ announcement of the appointments led to a slew of news outlets calling it a “hostile takeover of a liberal college” and saying “serious trouble ahead of New College, thanks to DeSantis.” Democrat state Rep. Anna Eskamani had said on Twitter DeSantis is “destroying higher education,” announcing that admin, alumni, and students “need to fight back” after calling Rufo a “political propagandist.”

At the beginning of Spalding’s letter, he called the controversy “overwrought.” Scroll down for his full statement.

Other appointments include Charles R. Kesler, Mark Bauerlein, Debra Jenks, and Jason “Eddie” Speir.

Charles Kesler is the Dengler-Dykema Distinguished Professor of Government at Claremont-McKenna College and Editor of the Claremont Review of Books. A most recent book includes “The Crisis of the Two Constitutions.”

Mark Bauerlein has taught at Emory University since 1989. He served as the Director of the Office of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Debra Jenks is a Partner and Attorney at Jenks & Harvey and is an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. She serves on the Fourth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission.

Jason “Eddie” Speir is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and Superintendent of the Inspiration Academy. He was previously the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of 3t Systems and Mortgage Cadence.

The political controversy surrounding recent appointments to the board of New College of Florida is overwrought. I am honored by the appointment and look forward to engaging in reform to achieve educational excellence. As a professor, dean, and vice president at a successful liberal arts college, my focus is on the work at hand: restoring New College’s “distinctive mission” as the “residential liberal arts honors college” of Florida. I appreciate the complimentary nods to Hillsdale College, but we are not going to serve New College’s mission by remaking it into a carbon copy of another institution. In the liberal arts, the college—which means a partnership, one between students and faculty—works together and comes into conversation with great thinkers and writers who’ve asked timeless questions about human purpose, about the good, and justice, and how to live well. The very aim of liberal arts education is to liberate the mind from current fads and popular ideologies by inviting students to address these questions in pursuit of the truth about what it means to be fully human. That pursuit transcends contemporary politics. Such an education teaches one how to think, not what to think. The surging enrollment at my home institution and others like it shows that students hunger for such serious academic inquiry. 

Dr. Matthew Spalding