It will be interesting to see what this does to Florida’s public universities.
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On the one hand, it will lead to a lot of faculty resentment and anger. But on the other hand, I don’t know if it will lead to an exodus. It’s extremely difficult to leave a tenure-track (and especially tenured) academic job. It’s not like switching jobs in any other profession – once you get tenure, unless your’e a superstar in your discipline, it’s almost impossible to move. So I suspect that the universities will decline in quality because of all they cannot offer as a result of these policies, and it will be difficult to recruit new faculty (although the job market is so bad that most candidates will apply to even the most unattractive positions just in hopes of getting anything). Morale will tank. Course offerings will not keep up with the cutting edge of disciplines most likely to be affected.
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It’s not possible to formulate a comment that won’t verge into political territory. Suffice it to say that what it will do is something that I don’t think is desirable.
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On the other hand, it is not so difficult to leave that tenured position if you are fired.
DeSantis’ plan also would allow university boards of trustees and presidents to conduct reviews of tenured faculty members “at any time,” in addition to the periodic reviews that already take place.
“They can be let go if they’re not performing to expectations,” DeSantis said to applause…
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“They can be let go if they’re not performing to expectations,”
As they should be
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The problem is that “expectations” just whipsawed, and many argue that they have no bearing on actual education.
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Yea I’m sure. I just know that at my one daughters school, seems like the professors got away with a lot the last year and because of tenure they could get away with it.
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There are two sides to the coin. There is currently large resentment amongst stem faculty for involving them in campus DEI efforts — forcing all incoming new faculty to mandatorily write a DEI statement etc. as a necessary requirement for their appointment — ie about how their research will help in DEI initiatives — even if their research has nothing to do with any of this — for example if the person is doing research in algebraic number theory. If this push continues, many promising young researchers in stem may not come and work at universities that are becoming very political.
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These two passages from the article particularly come to mind with my last thought:
He also proposes changes in standards and course content “to ensure higher education is rooted in the values of liberty and western tradition.”
DeSantis said all students graduating from Florida universities would be required to take general education courses that include “actual history and actual philosophy that has shaped western civilization.”
and
Among those reacting to his announcement was State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, who said on Twitter: “Nothing says you oppose ideology on college campuses…. like pushing your ideology on college campuses.”
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As a former Florida resident whose entire family still resides in the Sunshine State…this just makes me incredibly sad.
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Wouldn’t surprise me. I know quite a few recent PhDs in my field who chose teaching jobs at private high schools in NYC, Seattle, Chicago, etc. rather than take postdocs or lecturer positions in states they preferred to avoid.
Of course, there is no shortage of qualified PhDs on the academic job market, so while a university may not be able to attract the best of the best – and regardless of politics, UF and FSU have never been at Berkeley or Michigan’s level – they can still snag some pretty good scholars.
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This is pretty standard as part of the job search for STEM faculty, and has been for a few years. There’s a few institutions/departments that won’t ask that of their applicants, but the majority do. Even if it’s not a dedicated DEI document, you’re expected to address it throughout your other materials. The hiring committees I’ve been on take it seriously.
My many STEM faculty friends think that it is quite germane to their jobs and do not resent it. Most welcome such efforts enthusiastically. This includes my friends and collaborators that work at Florida public universities. YMMV, as always.
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I have many STEM faculty friends around the country. And this is not what they feel.
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Like I said, YMMV.
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I would also think many research grants include DEI requirements/expectations in their terms of funding, no?
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I wonder what will happen to the freshman class at Florida’s New College. They are really going through a 180 degree change. I don’t see the normal applicant still being willing to go. It is also likely too early to attract new applicants.
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Interestingly this parallels what they did on the K-12 level in Sarasota County as well - they ousted the school board president, too, in the very same county as NCF. So it’s part of a larger trend affecting all levels of public education.
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It depends on the grant, but yes, some have explicit expectations. Some grants are restricted solely to funding projects for underrepresented awardees/subjects.
Interestingly, I found out just recently that I qualify under the NIH’s definition of underrepresented groups in the category of “individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds”. I am normally pretty savvy with this stuff, and was surprised to discover that I could have qualified for some special mechanisms. However, I think it was changed to include me after the point in my career that it would have been most useful for me.
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Was just trying to say there are two sides to the argument.
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Sure, and that’s fine, except when there’s a proposed blanket prohibition against one side.
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