Six conservative board members recently appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis moved to remove New College President Patricia Okker and replace her on an interim basis with former state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran.
The move came after a full day marked by student demonstrations, fiery speeches from Rep. Anna Eskamani and former Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith and was just part of a contentious meeting where the new board not only advanced Corcoran, but installed a DeSantis appointee to a new board chair and hired a former GOP lawmaker as New College’s general counsel.
New College has recently become the object of the governor’s obsession as he continues his quasi-battle against “woke” by pledging to turn the liberal-arts school into the Hillsdale College college of the south.
During her final comments ahead of her ouster, Okker told the board and room, “I do not believe that students are being indoctrinated at New College.”
