The New College of Florida moves to abolish gender studies program

The New College of Florida, whose board of trustees has been remade by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, voted last week to begin the process to abolish the institution’s gender studies program.

Christopher Rufo, a conservative education activist and a member of the board of trustees, proposed the motion to eventually eliminate the program at The New College. The vote passed by a 7-3 vote and would begin the process of abolishing the program.

For example, the college’s interim president, Richard Corcoran, has to contact the Board of Governors and look into the existing collective bargaining agreement with the program’s faculty members.

The New College’s gender studies program started in 1995 and enrolled about eight students each year, which appears to validate the trustee’s motion to abolish the program due to low enrollment. The incoming class of 2024 will be affected by the vote.

For years, Accuracy in Academia criticized higher education for gender studies programs because of the lack of real-world value and low enrollment numbers. The board of trustees’ move could be a harbinger of things to come as colleges and universities have to balance their books as student enrollment numbers plummet post-pandemic.

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