Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed Joe Jacquot to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees, after the Florida Senate failed to confirm a previous trustee tapped by the governor. Jacquot, who is from Jacksonville, served as general counsel for DeSantis from the time the governor was inaugurated in 2019 through October of 2020.
Jacquot also was DeSantis’ chief ethics officer. He is a shareholder of the Gunster law firm specializing in business litigation, according to the firm’s website. “Joe led the Governor’s legal team through the COVID-19 pandemic, including drafting and implementing the Governor’s executive orders including the reopening plan,” Jacquot’s biography on the firm’s website says. Jacquot’s appointment to replace Eddie Speir is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
In the waning days of the 2023 legislative session, the Senate confirmed six New College trustees appointed by DeSantis but failed to sign off on Speir, a founder of a Christian school in Bradenton. Speir, who initially was appointed with a slate of other new trustees in January amid an effort by DeSantis and other state officials to remake the small liberal-arts school in Sarasota, attributed the Senate’s move to interference by New College’s Interim President Richard Corcoran.
The revamped New College trustees earlier this year selected Corcoran, a former Republican state House speaker and state education commissioner, to lead the school on an interim basis. Speir suggested in a Twitter post that Corcoran was “working with his political allies to block me.” The next regular meeting of the New College trustees is scheduled for June 1.
–News Service of Florida
Joe D says
Is ANYONE surprised?!? At least Spier wasn’t confirmed by the Florida legislature (a so called “Christian” minister, who believes that hormones in the water supply were “turning” people GAY)!
The long term effects of these Governor controlled state college boards of directors, and “appointed” (elected by those boards state college boards of directors)….I guarantee that at least SOME out of state families will choose to spend their college funds at non-Florida state run institutions, due to the ultra conservative oppression and instruction restrictions. At least at the moment, private Florida colleges are exempt from our Governor’s radical ideas….so I can see attendance and applications switching towards those colleges for now.
EVENTUALLY, parents with limited funds to afford only STATE colleges, will look outside of Florida’s college system for a more professional, BALANCED educational institution for their family members.
A LIKELY scenario for the future under our current Governor’s REIN, would be what happened years ago, in Florida with Teacher program graduates. The graduating Florida teachers at the time, performed so poorly when they took jobs outside of Florida, that National Teacher certification organizations instituted a RESTRICTION on hiring Florida Teacher program graduates. That situation was eventually resolved.
Looking forward, what outside states will want to hire a teacher who was never taught about slavery, civil rights historical events, never learned how to assist students with gender identity questions or concerns? Those graduates would be HANDICAPPED in functioning in the non-Florida educational world…and as the husband and father of two former public school teachers, those teachers would also have a difficult time passing national Standardized Teacher Certification exams required of every PUBLIC school teacher (private school teachers don’t HAVE to be CERTIFIED….can you BELIEVE THAT)!?!
Lee says
Yes, Joe!
I can believe that, as that’s what Dictators do.
What a shame for this generation, illiteracy runs ramped in Florida.