New College Board of Trustees votes to eliminate gender studies program

SARASOTA, Fla. (FLV) – The New College of Florida Board of Trustees recently voted 7-3 to direct the president and staff to take the necessary and proper steps to terminate the gender studies program, beginning with the 2024 enrollees.

Trustee Christopher Rufo motioned for the removal and said the program is “not compatible” with the mission, which is to “revive a classical liberal arts education.”

The college made national headlines after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a majority of the board of trustees in January, who made sweeping changes including ousting of the college’s president, and an overhaul of the institution’s “equity” ideology for a merit-based approach.

The Thursday vote, however, did not terminate the program. General Counsel Bill Galvano explained there are certain requirements that need to take place first, and it may come back to the board after they look at those requirements.

Trustee Dr. Amy Reid, who is also the director of Gender Studies, voted against the motion and spoke in favor of the program.

According to New College’s website, Gender Studies is an “interdisciplinary academic program that draws on curricula across the campus (and beyond) to engage students with the complex focal problem of gender.”

Gender Studies has been recognized as an interdisciplinary academic program at New College since 1995.

The program is encompasses other related fields including “women’s and feminist studies, gender and sexuality studies, queer and trans studies; and masculinity studies; it also intersects with interdisciplinary fields including cultural, ethnic, and Africana studies.”

“If this board is about attacking gender studies, that’s what this board is doing, but I believe it is morally reprehensible and I don’t think it is educationally defensible,” Reid said.

“This was the mission of the founders of New College, they said, ‘classical liberal arts education.’ It’s our mission today. And I think that the gender studies program is wildly contradictory to that mission,” Rufo said.

Rufo said there is “great historical precedent” for abolishing programs that “stray from their scholarly mission in favor of ideological activism.”

Reid said they have graduated two to eight gender studies majors each year and over 40 students completed the introduction to gender studies course, which was offered in both fall and spring last year due to “high student interest.”

She said the current class schedule lists two courses in gender studies and two cross listed courses, plus an additional 11 gender studies eligible courses.

Reid pointed out that the program is small, “with a limited budget,” and “a few $1,000 for programming.”

Rufo said he was “somewhat gratified by Trustee Reid’s statements.”

“She’s saying it’s a small program, with a small budget, with a small number of people attached, which should make the decision even easier,” Rufo said.

“If it furthermore did not help make new college a high performing university […] It’s just further confirmation that this is the right decision,” Rufo added.

Rufo said it may be “difficult” and “engender some criticism” but he believes they have to “make those hard choices” and thinks that this is the time to do it.

Trustee Mark Bauerlein said he supports the directive but doesn’t want it to be “construed against gender studies, because there have been many brilliant books, work and teaching done in the area of gender studies.”

Bauerlein said he doesn’t think its “wise” to create a separate, independent, disciplinary entity of gender studies.

“I’ve been looking at these kinds of issues for a long time. That’s what I would I would like to promote good intelligent gender studies, but not as again, an independent disciplinary formation,” Bauerlein said.

Interim President Corcoran said he will “absolutely” do the will of the motion and will look into it and whatever that process is and move forward.

Following the vote, Reid said it needs to be “on the record” as “the first time this board has made a substantive attack on our academic program.”

“This is a moment that this board needs to weigh,” Reid said.

Rufo said New College is the first public university in America to begin “rolling back the encroachment of queer theory and gender pseudoscience into academic life.”