The sunshine state dilemma: decoding Florida higher education’s autonomy and policy theatrics in the Ron DeSantis Era

Thesis

This research focuses on relations between the Florida state government and public higher education institutions within their jurisdiction. The study takes a closer look at the effects of legislative decisions pertaining to higher education, made by the DeSantis administration in the 2020s, on faculty members who are employed by the state college and university system. In examining the new relationship between state and education institution, established by these decisions, this study aims to provide context for and clarify two key areas of concern: the autonomy of Florida higher education amidst the policy changes of the early 2020s, and the legitimacy and staying power of Ron DeSantis’ restructuring of higher education.

The qualitative research study enlisted the services of eight interview participants, all of which are faculty members at public higher education institutions in Florida. Their stories were collected via semi-structured interviews where the participants were given the freedom to fully express their thoughts and experiences under conditions of strict anonymity. In relation to institutional autonomy, the findings identify various levels of political interference from the state government that infringe upon an institution of higher learning’s ability to conduct research and carry out the academic process. In relation to the prospects of Florida higher education with respect to the future, while no one can predict the future, review of the Florida legislative process, together with the findings from the study’s participants, suggest reason to believe that the steps taken by the DeSantis administration are more than political theater and indicate a long-term policymaking process, due to Florida’s deeply conservative legislature and its willingness to give DeSantis whatever he wants.

This study addresses the new way of life experienced by Florida higher education faculty as they face the culture of fear built by Ron DeSantis and his political allies. Much of DeSantis’ strategy revolves around the idea of removing “woke-ism” from universities. “Woke” is poorly defined as anything a conservative in government may disagree with. This research shows how far DeSantis’ interpretation of “woke” goes into the practices of higher education, and that if he were to get his way, higher education would serve a completely different purpose than its intended one of creating and distributing knowledge. This research also suggests the importance of including more voices in the study of the changes in Florida, as it is more than just faculty members who are affected by DeSantis’ war on “woke” and higher education.

Authors: Resatar, Z

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-yxbzddzxo
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: HE; academic autonomy; power; woke; politics; higher education; HE2024; Florida; state government
• Subjects: Education (Higher); Education; Education and state; Government