New College Expansion Plan Advances

New College of Florida appears to be set for a major expansion.

On Sunday night, the Florida State Senate approved a plan to transfer the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus to nearby New College. The proposal, which failed to pass during the regular legislative session this spring, now appears likely to advance. New College is set to receive more than 32 acres of land and facilities, including much-needed student housing. New College will also take on $53 million in debt tied to the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus.

While the Senate initially balked at the proposal, it appeared to reach a compromise with the House, which had pushed the transfer. The House initially pushed for $22 million in recurring funds for New College as part of the deal, but dropped that request in a deal with the Senate. Now, pending final approval of the budget, New College seems set to take over the campus.

New College of Florida president Richard Corcoran, a former GOP lawmaker, thanked Republican governor Ron DeSantis and the Legislature in a statement posted to social media.

“As the end of the special legislation approaches, the potential transition represents a thoughtful and forward-looking opportunity to expand New College’s capacity while preserving continuity for the Sarasota-Manatee community, its students, faculty, and staff,” Corcoran wrote on X.

USF Board of Trustees chairman Will Weatherford also endorsed the move.

“The property transfer makes practical sense with the state’s focus on efficiency, the growth of New College and the proximity of the campuses. It is equally important that @USouthFlorida keeps all the recurring resources from that campus,” he wrote on social media. While Weatherford noted USF “may no longer have the same physical footprint,” he wrote that the university intends to “maintain a meaningful presence” in the area.

But some locals see the move as a boondoggle. Nancy Parrish, president of the group Citizens to Protect the Ringling & USF Sarasota-Manatee, deemed the move “fiscally reckless” in a statement to Inside Higher Ed.

“This deal hands New College a campus and its $53 million in outstanding dorm bond debt without a credible plan for how an unrated, financially weaker institution will service that debt,” Parrish wrote by email. “It dismantles a thriving, community university that for decades has educated working adults, veterans, place-bound students, nurses, teachers, and the regional workforce our economy actually depends on.”