New College data science director to resign, says he’d ‘burn’ its buildings ‘to the ground’

SARASOTA, Fla. (FLV) – New College of Florida’s director of applied data science resigned and released a letter online that said he would “burn the college’s buildings to the ground” following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ board appointments.

However, the former director said a “soft spot in his heart” for the remaining students and faculty has “prevented it.”

“I was hired at New College of Florida (my alma mater) immediately before Governor Desantis replaced the trustees and president in an effort to make it ‘The Hillsdale of the South’ I just gave notice,” Hillegass said in a letter to New College of Florida Interim President Richard Corcoran.

The public college is located in Sarasota where DeSantis’ appointees recently made sweeping changes. These includes abolishing the institution’s “equity” ideology for a merit-based approach and ousting former President Dr. Patricia Okker for newly appointed Corcoran.

“If I were more patriotic, I would burn the college’s buildings to the ground. However, the soft spot in my heart for the students and faculty who remain prevents this,” Hillegass said.

Hillegass later tweeted that he would “never burn a building down. Nor should anyone else. That was a poetic flourish that sounded cool until it showed up in the Sarasota Herald Tribune.”

According to the school’s directory, Hillegass is listed as “Interim Director of Applied Data Science.”

DeSantis’ Board of Trustees appointee Christopher Rufo tweeted, “This professor is proving the point about ideological capture: he thinks it’s perfectly reasonable to compare DeSantis to the Nazis and talk tough about ‘burn[ing] the college’s buildings to the ground.'”

“Thank you for your resignation. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Rufo said.

Deputy press secretary Jeremy Redfern responded to the tweet and called New College a “failing public institution, captured by the ideological left, in need of a serious intervention.”

“We also should ensure that those we hire in our public institutions don’t want to ‘burn the college’s buildings to the ground’ because they didn’t get their way,” Redfern said.

Florida’s Voice reached out to New College for a statement and will update this story if a response is received.