Credit: Photo via University of West Florida

A second appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis to the University of West Florida Board of Trustees has stepped down, a state Senate spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.

Gates Garcia, CEO of a private-equity firm based in Tampa, was among a slate of trustees DeSantis appointed to the board of the Pensacola-based school in January.
The board notified the Senate on Thursday about Garcia’s resignation, Senate spokeswoman Katie Betta said in an email.

Last week, Boise State University political-science professor Scott Yenor, who faced an outcry after being appointed to UWF’ board, also resigned. Yenor was quickly elected chairman of the board after DeSantis appointed him in January. Yenor drew opposition, in part, because of issues such as a 2021 comment calling working women “more medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome than women need to be.”

Garcia expressed strong support for Yenor when the board elected the Idaho professor as chairman, calling Yenor one of the “greatest leaders” in education reform and saying he has “as decorated a resume as anyone in this space.”

Garcia disputed criticism from university supporters about Yenor lacking ties to the Northwest Florida community.

“Sometimes, fresh perspective from the outside, or experience from other places, is warranted in certain circumstances, and provides value that we might need,” Garcia said at the time.

The Senate must confirm university trustees. But with slightly more than two weeks left in the 2025 legislative session, Garcia had not been scheduled for a confirmation hearing as of Thursday.

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