Amid conservative makeover, New College of Florida sticks with DeSantis ally Corcoran as president

Amid a conservative makeover launched by Gov. Ron DeSantis, trustees of the New College of Florida voted Tuesday to stick with DeSantis ally Richard Corcoran as the school’s president.

The trustees voted 10-2 for Corcoran, who has served as interim president since January, over two other candidates to run the Sarasota school that for years had a progressive reputation and somewhat eccentric student body. Corcoran, a former state House speaker and education commissioner, is moving the school in a different direction.

“I think he’s done a great job getting us where we are today. I know we have a lot of work going forward,” Trustee Lance Karp said. “For the first time now, I’d say there is a lot of positivity.”