Gainesville – The DeSantis administration has ordered the University of Florida to suspend searches for a new dean at the University of Liberal Arts and Science after conservative social media accounts accused the university of selecting finalists against the governor’s education agenda.
Brian Griffin, Governor Ron DeSantis’ Director of Communications, announced on Thursday that UF leadership was “cooperative” and “promised to curb” employment. Griffin’s post cited a viral thread that appears to have triggered an intervention. It was published by Commiesoncampus, an anonymous right-wing account, labeled “Radical Dei Progressives” by finalists.
Griffin replied: “Thank you for flagging this.”
On the same day, interim UF President Kent Fuchs sent an internal memo saying the search was cancelled because “they cannot appoint a new dean without the full participation of the university’s next president.”
Following the note, the university plans to resume its search process once the new president is in place. Fuchs, who was contacted through a university spokesman, did not respond to comments.
Desantis spokesman Sierra Dean confirmed that the governor’s office had intervened on Friday.
“Once we grabbed the office’s attention, we worked with the University of Florida to stop the search,” Dean said in a statement. “Our previous statements from candidates relating to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) raised concerns about their ability to manage quality higher education under Florida law.”
The suspended search shows a significant expansion of DeSantis’ hold through Florida public universities, surpassing the traditional role of electing university presidents and council members to include employment at the dean level. It raises the question of whether future dean searches will face the same scrutiny.
At the same time, state legislators may be working to curb the governor’s influence. The Florida home has overwhelmingly approved a bill that restricts the governor’s role in university governance, including a clause that prohibits him and members of his administration from discussing job vacancies. The law is still waiting for Senate votes.
The UF is already navigating the politically charged search for the new president. Ben Sasse, a former Republican US Sen. from Nebraska, resigned from the university’s top post in July amid reports of family health issues and dropouts with Mori Hoseni, UF’s board of trustees chair and close DeSantis ally. DeSantis did not say that he was “not necessarily involved” in Sasse’s choice, but instead committed to leaving the appointment of a successor to the UF trustee.
The halt of the search for the dean of the liberal arts college continues with years of political tension between the DeSantis administration and Florida’s institutions of higher education. Desantis implements sweeping reforms that ban diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, limits how race and gender can be taught, and gives state-appointed boards greater empowerment than academic issues. Critics say change is the amount of ideological censorship and undermines academic freedom.
The UF was the focus of these fights, especially the liberal arts college. Since 2022, university humanities professors have been trapped in a feud with UF’s Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education, a GOP-backed institute that critics consider as part of a top-down overhaul of the curriculum. Tensions erupted last spring, leading to the resignation of then-Liberal Arts Dean David Richardson in May, and the university has remained under interim leadership ever since.
Four currently suspended finalists from the permanent Liberal Arts Dean participated in recorded public interviews. There, he expressed concern about recent legislative measures and the impact on teacher morale. A Commiesoncampus post featured selectively edited clips of these interviews, accusing the candidate of pushing forward with a progressive agenda. The account, increasingly targeting Florida scholars, describes itself as being dedicated to “exposing American communism.”
One finalist, Dean Robert Brinkman, Liberal Arts at Northern Illinois University, was critical of the Trump administration’s law banning federal research funding reductions and diversity initiatives.
“It’s definitely been a difficult time. I’m sorry that our country is in this space that’s happening right now for our students,” Brinkman said in the clip. “Part of the reason I’m interested in this job is personally that I feel like I’m being called to help older gay men a little bit to be here for people in times of crisis.”
Brinkmann and two other finalists contacted us via email and did not respond in time for the release. Kevin Knudson, an internal candidate and associate dean of the Liberal Arts College, declined to comment.
In an interview with this role, Knudson explained how recent law has influenced teachers. “The teachers feel a bit bothered. …That’s not unfair.”
