Right now, Governor DeSantis is trying to stack the University of West Florida’s Board of Trustees with extremists that do not support the public education system that we all hold dear. Specifically he has appointed two members that are incredibly problematic. The first, and now Chair of UWF BOT is Scott Yenor–a man who has publicly stated that women should focus on raising children rather than pursuing higher education. In a 2021 speech, Yenor said, “Every effort must be made not to recruit women into engineering, but rather to recruit and demand more of men who become engineers. Ditto for med school and the law and every trade.” Along with Heritage Foundation fellow Adam Kissel, Yenor seems to desire an education system that is focused on the development of men, specifically calling out women and veterans in our public education system. Furthermore, these men are not members of our community and don’t understand the realities of Florida’s students. Yenor hails from Boise State University in Idaho. Kissel is from West Virginia and just last year wrote that “One solution in these circumstances is to stop funding public colleges in the first place, which means to stop having them, and instead, to privatize them.” That’s right. He’d like to take all public funding away from UWF and see it privatized. He has also claimed that the GI bill was the beginning of the downfall of higher education. For a school that has consistently ranked as a top institution for military and veterans, this is incredibly disturbing. We can only imagine how high tuition would soar.
Our state universities are meant to serve all Florida students, including women and veterans. An affordable, publicly-funded system of higher education is essential for the future of our state. Extreme political agendas and blatant, corporate greed have no place here.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The Governor can appoint Board of Trustees members, but must have confirmation from the Florida Senate. Press “SUBMIT” to send a letter to your state senators. Tell them that these appointees are not the kind of people we want meddling with Florida’s public universities and colleges. Our students deserve better. Florida deserves better. UWF deserves trustees that have ties to their local community, trustees who understand how important UWF is to our community and what the value of higher education is for all Floridians.
Sign the letter to Vote NO on the Confirmation of Scott Yenor and Adam Kissel as UWF Board of Trustees Appointees
