New College of Florida selects Interim President Richard Corcoran as next president

SARASOTA, Fla. – New College of Florida’s Board of Trustees selected Interim President Richard Corcoran Tuesday as the college’s next president.

They voted to enter into contract negotiations that will be considered at the next board of trustees meeting later this month.

Corcoran told Florida’s Voice he is “honored” by the trust the board of trustees has placed in him to “continue seeing through the process we began more than six months ago.”

“We’ve made significant progress in our goal to restore New College’s stature among America’s best liberal arts institutions, but have many hurdles still to clear,” Corcoran said. “We will stay the course to achieve this goal.”

Corcoran’s selection comes after a six-month presidential search and selection process.

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.

Florida’s Voice previously reported Corcoran announced the college has broken an “all-time record for enrollment” during the college’s board of trustees meeting in July, exceeding 300 new students for the first time in the school’s history.

Additionally, Corcoran announced the college added an athletics department with new men and women’s sports, moved to abolish the gender studies program and added new faculty, among other changes.

Corcoran has started on campus improvements and has taken steps to make progress on more than $60 million of deferred maintenance needs inherited from the prior New College leadership.

The college has also established the Presidential Honors Scholarship, which provided financial assistance to 180 exceptional incoming students.

New College of Florida was a leader in dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion departments and programs, but has organically improved diversity, bringing in nearly four times as many black students and nearly twice as many Hispanic students in the 2023 class compared to the 2022 enrollment cycle, according to the college.

“Congratulations to Mr. Corcoran, who will lead the college’s continued transformation and the restoration of the classical liberal arts in the State of Florida,” New College Trustee Christopher Rufo said.

BREAKING: The New College of Florida board of trustees has selected Richard Corcoran, who is currently serving as interim president, to be the permanent president of the university. Congratulations to Mr. Corcoran, who will lead the college's continued transformation and the…

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 3, 2023

“We want to extend our gratitude to the presidential search committee, who conducted a robust nationwide search to bring us candidates that would capably guide New College into the future,” Board of Trustees Chair Debra A. Jenks said in a press release.

Jenks said with the selection of President Richard Corcoran, New College is “poised to continue on its path of becoming the best liberal arts institution in the nation.”

Jenks designated Vice Chair Ron Christaldi to negotiate an employment contract with Corcoran. Once an employment contract is agreed upon, the full Board of Trustees will meet to review and vote on the contract.

Once approved, the contract will go before the State University System of Florida Board of Governors at its Nov. 9 meeting for consideration and a vote on approval.   

According to a press release, during four terms in the Florida Legislature, Corcoran was a “staunch advocate for improving all levels of education.”

Corcoran’s eight years in elected office culminated with the speakership in the Florida House of Representatives in his final term.

He was appointed as Florida’s Education Commissioner in 2018. He has been a member of the Florida Bar for 24 years and served six years in the U.S. Naval Reserve while in college.

Corcoran was one of three finalists submitted by the presidential search committee to the NCF Board of Trustees for consideration. The other two finalists were Tyler Fisher and Robert Gervasi.

The 15-member search committee, comprising a distinguished group representing the State University System Board of Governors, New College’s Board of Trustees, student body, faculty, New College Foundation, alumni and other stakeholders and supporters of New College of Florida, started its work on April 7.

The committee received and reviewed 63 applications and conducted eight interviews.