Printable Page
01/02 10:53 CST College football's Urban Meyer joins board of Florida college
transformed by DeSantis
College football's Urban Meyer joins board of Florida college transformed by
DeSantis
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) --- College football Hall of Famer Urban Meyer has been
appointed to the board of trustees at a small public liberal arts college that
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has transformed from a progressive institute into a
staging ground for the Republican governor's war on "woke."
DeSantis this week named Meyer to the board at New College in Sarasota, which
the governor's allies took over two years ago by packing the board with
DeSantis supporters and conservative figures.
Meyer currently is a college football analyst for FOX Sports. As head football
coach at the University of Florida, Meyer led the Gators to two national
championships in 2006 and 2008. Meyer also steered Ohio State's football team
to a national championship in 2014. Meyer was the head coach of the
Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 during his only season leading an NFL team.
Urban's appointment, which is subject to confirmation by the state Senate, was
announced Tuesday along with the reappointment of two other New College
trustees.
DeSantis targeted the tiny school on the shores of Sarasota Bay two years ago
as part of a campaign against what he calls "woke" ideology. The governor and
his allies believed that New College, a progressive school with a prominent
LGBTQ+ community, had been indoctrinating students with leftist teachings and
should be revamped into a more conservative institution.
After DeSantis' allies took control off the school's board, they promptly fired
the college president and replaced her with a Republican politician, the first
of several administrators to lose their jobs. They also dismantled the office
of diversity and equity. Students compared the changes to "a hostile takeover,"
saying the governor was dismantling what had been a safe place for many LGBTQ+
students who felt marginalized at other schools.
|
