Florida’s state universities in peril

If Floridians are not worried about what’s happening at our state universities, they should be.No, I’m not talking about how these invaluable educational institutions have, in the words of Gov. Ron DeSantis, been turned into “indoctrination camps.” As anyone who knows anything about how colleges and universities actually work, this pernicious description is so absurd that it defies belief. And I can’t help but think that our Ivy League-educated governor knows this.Instead, he calculated that his anti-“woke” education agenda would lift his presidential campaign (and we’ve all seen how well that turned out), no matter what the cost to higher education in our state. Freedom of thought, the honest teaching of difficult subject matter, the absolutely critical guarantee of academic freedom that faculty tenure conveys, all these be damned.And make no mistake, fellow Floridians, the cost already has been severe, and it is only going to get worse.The Florida Phoenix , an independent journalistic voice much needed in our state these days, recently reported on a survey of Florida university faculty across a wide range of departments at a number of state institutions. Out of the approximately 350 professors surveyed, 135 said they already had applied for a job in higher education outside the state.I cannot tell you how stunning that figure is. I taught at the college and university level, in both public and private institutions, for more than five decades, and if someone told me that close to 40% of the faculty at universities in a state were trying to leave, I would steer as clear of that place as I possibly could.Gov. DeSantis claims not to be in the least bit worried about this incredibly worrisome state of affairs. “The media will be like, ‘These professors are fleeing Florida,’ ” he said this summer. “Wait a minute,” he added, “if Marxist professors are leaving Florida, that is not bad for Florida, that’s good for Florida.”Let me tell you straight out: There are not even remotely close to 135 “Marxist professors” teaching at our state universities. My field was history, and I never ran across even one Marxist historian at any place I taught (which included Louisiana State University, the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Virginia). In many ways, I wish I had. We would have had some fierce debates, and I think our students would have profited from these debates. And isn’t that what colleges and universities are all about: a vigorous exchange of ideas, a probing of assumptions, the elevation of rigorous inquiry and scientific investigation over myth and misinformation?And how easy will it be to replace those 135 (and counting) departed faculty? Take a guess. The best and the brightest coming out of our premier graduate schools will avoid Florida. Anecdotal evidence from friends who teach in this state tells me this is already happening. And why not? Why should the best young teachers and scholars in any field not look elsewhere for a good place to put down their academic roots?If this story so far has left you feeling more than a little depressed, let me add one more brick to the weight you are carrying: It will take years to repair the damage the governor and his enablers in the legislature have inflicted on our state universities. These institutions are inherently fragile entities that take decades to build; the key ingredient, the absolute core, of any university is the community of bright, dedicated men and women who teach and do research there. Many thanks, governor, for sending so many of these good people packing. Charles B. Dew, a native of St. Petersburg, is Ephraim Williams Professor of American History, emeritus, at Williams College.

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