The University of Florida will not be taken over for ideological purposes, it’s interim president declared Friday.
Interim President Donald Landry and UF trustees expressed a commitment during a board meeting to “institutional neutrality” regarding how university actors will behave.
“We are not protecting the right to choose topics for classroom instruction, research, or scholarship if that right is not coupled with institutional neutrality,” Landry said.
“We have to provide protections for free expression, but we are not going to be able to engage in that protection if we have leadership speaking on issues that then create those aligned with leadership and those opposed to leadership. At that moment, those who are opposed to leadership are now afraid to speak, they don’t know if it’s safe.”
Trustees unanimously supported a policy that applies to university employees with access to communications resources used for “university business,” including email distribution lists, university websites, social media accounts, and teleconference systems.
“University business” encompasses “instructional activities, research and scholarship, administrative functions, communications,” and lobbying. Also: “Guidance regarding or requiring compliance with laws, regulations or policies.”
“Proclamations from UF institutional and unit leadership on issues that polarize society impair the free and open exchange of differing ideas on campus as it divides the student body and faculty into those aligned with leadership and those opposed,” the new policy says, in part.
The policy, according to its language, “clarifies expectations regarding (1) leadership commentary and proclamations on Social Issues; (2) the use of communication resources for personal expression; and (3) representations of affiliations.”
“When our leaders make comment or proclamations on social issues, political issues, normative issues, current events to their university constituents, these statements divide our faculty and students, chill free expression for those who do not agree with leadership, and send a signal that suddenly there’s no room for open discourse or the contest of ideas at the University of Florida,” Landry said.
Landry said he met with deans at the school about the neutrality statement.
“We resist ideological takeover of any unit of the university, we reject ideological indoctrination in favor of open discourse, we accomplish that at this university and in this state mainly through the right of the students to record any lecture,” Landry said.
The policy allows “political or social advocacy” as long as it’s not represented as UF policy, protecting “personal expression in their private capacities.”
Violation of the policy could result in termination.
“What we’re going to accomplish today is the voluntary restraint of leadership not to speak. If speech must come forth, it will come forth from the president in consultation with the chair, but otherwise we will remain silent,” Landry said.
Earlier in the meeting, Landry laid out his vision for the university. He holds the position while the university searches for a president. The search started Friday, and Chair Mori Hosseini said Landry signaled he will apply for the permanent position.
“This is a state where individuals can come confident that they will be able to learn, confident that their education will not be disrupted. It is a state where faculty can come, knowing they will be able to teach, they will be able to do research, they will be able to do their scholarship. That stability is priceless. That’s a firm foundation for a vision of preeminence and leadership,” Landry said.
The DeSantis administration’s political involvement in higher education led various professors to express their desire to leave the state, the Phoenix reported earlier this year.
Landry spent much of his time outlining his vision for the university, talking about expanding and supporting artificial intelligence research.
Chairs
Hosseini, a major donor to Gov. Ron DeSantis, will serve another term as chair of the state’s flagship university; the trustees unanimously voted Friday to keep Hosseini in charge for another two years.
Hosseini has served on the UF board since 2016 and before that he served on the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees public universitites, on which he also was chairman.
Notably, Hosseini stood behind the UF trustees’ support for Santa Ono, even after the state Board of Governors rejected him to be the leader of the university. Prominent Republicans came out in opposition to the former University of Michigan president after he abandoned his previous support for diversity, equity, and inclusion policies that are anathema to the MAGA movement.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that, in the modern era, I don’t think anybody has had as much influence on the trajectory of the University of Florida than you. From inspiring and challenging our leadership, to leveraging your relationships in Tallahassee for the benefit of our institution, the impact of your work is visible to all of us, every day,” board Vice Chair Rahul Patel told Hosseini.
The board also voted to keep Patel as the board’s vice chair.
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