I can’t say what the majority is doing, but I know some FL professors are altering their syllabi in response. My former colleague (and close friend) teaches at one of the public FL universities and has certainly adjusted her syllabi in response to what’s happening. She has modified some of the language on the syllabus so it won’t be flagged by search bots, and has only listed authors in other places so the readings/titles are not apparent to anyone outside her field. In other cases, she is actually removing content or choosing to skip a more controversial topic for fear of being “recorded and reported” by students. She is concerned about the proposed tenure review, academic freedom, her research projects, and job security. She has mentioned that several colleagues at her university are doing the same, and even sent me an article that features interviews with two of them.
While I realize this is anecdotal evidence, it does address those posters who are looking for actual accounts that professors are altering what and how they teach. And for the record, this is not someone heavily focused on critical race theory; she works on issues concerning gender inequity and violence against women.
For all wondering why people don’t just up and leave: some of them have families. Her spouse has a great non-academic job there, and she has two kids in high school and one in middle school. While she may be able to find another position, what does that mean for her H? How does she dismiss disrupting her kids during their sophomore and junior years of high school? There are entire families that would have to move, so it’s not the easy fix many claim it should be.
Her plan is to leave when the kids are older and her H has time to secure another job, but that will take a few years. In the meantime, she is trying to keep a low profile.
ETA: This former colleague and close friend is a white woman. (Just wanted to clarify for anyone assuming this is just about race.)
Well, sure. People move out of state and across the country, and ever overseas, all the time for a new job, or leave an uncomfortable workplace. Many have families and kids. That’s just life.
I have to disagree with you. People in Florida may not vote ‘for’ schools but the state legislature does make sure there are opportunities. Florida hs students do not pay for the AP tests (income doesn’t matter, free to all). Florida virtual school allows students from the most rural areas to take classes that may not be offered at their schools. There is a vibrant DE program with all the community colleges or local universities.
Colleges are affordable, either outright or through one of the many tuition assistance programs. Bright Futures, EASE (a resident program that gives a stipend to attend a private school), a FL-SEOG program, now there is the grandparent tuition program giving OOS students instate tuition (talk about people without kids in the public school lobbying for their own benefits), Benaquisto grants to NMF.
Florida doesn’t have the best secondary education program (IMO, and my kids were in other public schools in Colorado and California that are much better), but I do think kids have opportunities in Florida. I had to pay $900 for my daughter to play a sport in a California public school and it was $60 in Florida (same year).
So I think there were a lot of times the people of Florida voted ‘for’ schools, both secondary and university level. Maybe not a direct school bond vote like we have here, but they vote for politicians who fund the schools.
And yet she must feel her kids are getting a good education in Florida, and that they might go to college there (the benefits to hs students to stay in Florida are pretty attractive). If she doesn’t like the system, I’d think she’d want to get her kids out as soon as possible, not wait another 5-10 years for her kids to finish school in that system.
Do the politicians campaign on funding schools? They sure didn’t when we lived there. If it’s changed since then, I’m glad.
I think what the politicians have done (things you mentioned) are good and I wish PA would do many of the same TBH, but the post I was responding to mentioned people voting for DeSantis because they liked what he was doing - implying they supported his stance on restricting professor freedom. I believe with what I recall from living there in the past (twice) that they indeed support him against schools. I suspect if you asked many of his voters they’d feel the schools have too much money as well.
This is purely conjecture on my part, but I don’t think, as @Creekland said, that the politicians are campaigning on funding schools. I don’t have time to research now bc my eyes are bleeding from work, but isn’t a lot of education funding in Florida from the lottery or tourism tax or some such? Which is awesome, more power to them, and my pitifully funded state of PA could learn a lot from the way FL is structured, no doubt.
Of course. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a disruption. Posters are acting as if it’s just a simple “take another position” without any other considerations. I’m just pointing out that it’s not the simplistic move many are making it out to be. That’s naive.
Sure, moving is difficult and disruptive, but it’s something that everyone considers multiple times during their work life. Sometimes the disruption is too great, and folks stay put (and change jobs later) as your colleague is considering. Other times, the workplace is so toxic and/or uncomfortable, one just has to move on.
She is not waiting another 5-10 years. I’m not sure how “few” now equals 5-10. As I indicated in my post, she has a sophomore and junior in high school as well as a middle schooler. The plan is a few years before the middle schooler starts high school.
Her kids lived in New England up until a few years ago, and they dislike FL. They have already announced their plans to attend college out of state. They have no interest in the south at all.
I honestly do not interrogate my friends about their life plans, so for other posters wanting me to defend her thinking and every choice she is making–sorry, but I can’t help with that. I was simply offering another view since many posters questioned if professors are actually altering their actions in response to recent political events. They are. That is what I was addressing.
Feel free to debate the merits of her plan with someone else.
It sounded like she didn’t want to move with kids in high school. Almost 3 years for the sophomore to finish and by then the middle schooler could be in high school, so maybe wouldn’t want to move until that student finishes.
My kids went to 3 different high schools. It’s hard to move but they were okay. My parents moved when I was in high school and regretted it. I didn’t adjust well.
I honestly don’t remember anyone, including the governor, talking about school funding in state elections. It comes up when they are doing the budget, that’s in the spring and not during election season. When I lived there DeSantis was a congressman (in fact, he was my congressman) so school funding wasn’t an issue for him. Florida university funding is a big issue and they have several different boards that run things out of Tallahassee, all asking for funds when the budget is being developed. People are pretty happy now that they raised bright futures to cover tuition (when we were there it was about 1/2). I don’t think they care as much about professor tenure as they do about BF covering tuition, about the grandparent tuition rate, about funds to pay the tuition for the required summer sessions. Voters care about money.
I do not remember the elections for local school boards, for bond issues, or for a state board of regents (like I’m used to here in Colorado where we vote on every cent spent). I usually pay attention to all issues I vote on, so I’m thinking those things weren’t on my ballot. Mosquito warden? Yes, I remember voting for that.
Given the impending demographic cliff and the impact that will have in the Northeast, those interested in pursuing academic careers had better focus much more on states that are growing like Florida and Texas. It won’t affect those who are no longer young, like the academic posters here, but young adults beginning their careers need to go where the jobs are and will be.
Yes, in Florida Politics, funding schools is Big, especially in Higher Education.
It all starts with Bright Futures. This is extremely popular in Florida and politicians campaign on their “support” of these scholarships. However, Bright Futures (a very expensive program, all cost are NOT covered by the lotto) only works because the legislature has frozen tuition in the state to about $6K a year.
Universities can’t increase tuition, instead the legislature increases (yearly) the amount of direct support ($) to each university.
And Florida Pre-paid? Since the state has to pay tuition cost via Pre-paid, it also forces the tuition rates to stay low.
It all creates a virtuous/vicious circle that keeps tuition rates down, but schools well funded.
This has all lead to an increase in funding for our universities, which has fueled their rise in the ratings.
It also shifts an frighteningly inordinate amount of power in how universities are run from university administrators (and professors) directly into the hands of politicians. If a politician doesn’t like something about a school, he can petition to have funding to that school restricted, which would cause administrators to yield to the politician’s will.
Couple that with the state also attempting to deconstruct tenure, and I think we’re back at the crux of the original post. Maybe the effects aren’t large enough to gauge today, but is it possible these two issues (and possibly others) will cause the more talented professors to seek employment in other places. I don’t know the answer, but it bears monitoring and I’m interested to see how it works out.
My spouse is a tenured humanities professor (not in Florida), and in any given year, there may be 1-3 positions in his area of specialty in the U.S. and those positions are “open rank,” meaning no preference for what stage of career the applicant is. Departments generally prefer to hire an entry level person just starting on the tenure track because it is cheaper than bringing in someone with tenure somewhere else. So It’s not like humanities/social sciences faculty can just pick up and find a new job easily.
The other thing about Florida schools is that even the OOS tuition is affordable and outside UF merit happens with regularity.
So there is no question Florida will keep its brightest and draw OOS. My guess / belief is most students are not looking at the political climate or policies of a big state school. They are looking to get a degree in their chosen field at a school that meets their needs, starting with price and reputation.
It’s like the school boards at so many public schools trying to take over vs allowing paid professionals to do their job. Teachers should teach and administrators should administer.
Yet we are seeing politicians set the tone. My state just took non partisan school board races and made them partisan. Board members that didn’t go with an R lost.
It’s the same concept in Florida and other states. The governor is outside his area of expertise and putting his belief system on the academics.
And frankly as long as kids are getting degrees with affordability, most won’t care.
And if taxes stay low and the economy remains hot, the voters won’t care either.
Yes, there are so few positions open, and so many PhDs, that I predict Florida won’t have any trouble continuing to hire. Even if Florida does away with tenure, some PhDs will take the jobs because a full-time non-tenured position at a Florida public will probably still be more attractive than trying to make a living cobbling together courses as an adjunct in another state. Sure, the tippy-top professors will avoid Florida, but I doubt Florida will notice or care. But maybe I am wrong and something will shift (perhaps we are seeing it now with adjuncts across the country starting to band together and striking.)
