SP&A previously helped UF select Santa Ono, a former University of Michigan president.
Bryan Bedder/Stringer/Getty Images
The University of South Florida has dropped SP&A Executive Search as the firm leading its presidential search, The Tampa Bay Times reported Tuesday. The move comes after the Florida Board of Governors rejected the candidate that SP&A had helped the University of Florida pick for its top job: former University of Michigan president Santa Ono, whom the UF board unanimously approved.
Ono’s rejection came after conservatives mounted a campaign opposing him, citing his past support of diversity, equity and inclusion and his alleged failure to protect Jewish students.
After that failed hire, Rick Scott, a Republican U.S. senator representing Florida, blamed SP&A, telling Jewish Insider that the firm didn’t sufficiently vet Ono.
SP&A describes itself on its website as a “boutique woman- and minority-owned executive search firm.” Scott Yenor—a Boise State University political science professor who resigned from the University of West Florida’s Board of Trustees in April after implying that only straight white men should be in political leadership—highlighted that description in an essay he co-wrote, titled “How did a leftist almost become president of the University of Florida?”
“We can only speculate about how the deck was stacked,” Yenor and Steven DeRose, a UF alum and business executive, wrote. “SP&A colluded with campus stakeholders, especially faculty, when they were retained. Together, they developed the criteria necessary to hire a Santa Ono.”
They also pointed out that SP&A was leading the USF search. SP&A didn’t respond to Inside Higher Ed’s requests for comment Wednesday.
USF didn’t provide an interview or answer written questions. In a June 20 statement, USF trustee and presidential search committee chair Mike Griffin said the university was now using the international firm Korn Ferry.
“We value the expertise of our initial search consultant and thank them for their engagement,” Griffin wrote.
Colleges and universities are home to an array of resources to help students thrive and succeed, but many students don’t know about them. Just over half (56 percent) of college students say they’re aware of tutoring and academic supports on campus, compared to 94 percent of college employees who say their campus offers the resources.
At the University of South Florida, the Academic Success Center is a central office in the library that houses tutoring, the writing lab, peer mentoring and supplemental instruction, among other academic support offerings for undergraduates.
Zoraya Betancourt became director of the center in 2020 during a challenging time, she said—in part because the center had to reintroduce itself to incoming students who had never been on campus and those who had their college experience disrupted by COVID-19.
National data shows that students at large public institutions are spending less time studying outside of class now compared to during the 2018–19 academic year, and they are less likely to participate in a study group with their peers.
“For me, it was like, OK, we are going to have to be very different. We can’t go back to who we were,” Betancourt said.
Spurred by student data and feedback, Betancourt and her team led a remodel of the center to be more responsive to student needs and meet them where they are.
Data-based decisions: To start, Betancourt partnered with Steve Johnson, a data scientist on the university’s Predictive Analytics Research for Student Success team, to build a dashboard of student data.
“For many years the only data we had was how many students come and use the services how many times,” as well as some student identification data, Betancourt said. “I always thought we need more than that—we need to know more than that.”
Now, Betancourt has access to student majors, colleges and the types of services they utilize to identify high-demand subjects and create responsive learning support schedules. The dashboard also connects the way services are tied to student retention and outcome goals.
In addition to automating some work, the dashboard allows staff to engage students more directly. Each week, the system generates a report of new visitors to the center, which staff use to reach out and personally welcome students to the center and its services.
A care-centered model: One trend that became clear in student interactions was the prevalence of stress in the student experience, Betancourt said. “Our tutors are coming to us and saying, ‘I have a student … and I don’t know how to help them.’”
In response, the office adopted a care model for referrals that quickly connects support staff with other departments, reducing opportunities for students to fall through the cracks.
“Within this referral system, we can go in and see if a student who is using our services says, ‘I really need to change my major and I don’t know what to do, I’m really stressing out over it,’” Betancourt said. “We’re able to go into the system and refer them directly to an adviser.”
Larry Billue Jr. serves as the Academic Success Center point person for care management, guiding students to counseling support, financial aid, basic needs support and academic advisers or just sitting with the student to discuss how they’re feeling.
Increased peer engagement: Another new feature of the ACS was supplemental instruction. While the academic intervention has been around for decades, it was new to the university and created opportunities for increased collaboration between staff and faculty to promote academic success, as well as create jobs for student employees.
“That became more evident because we were hearing from students, ‘I need more than just tutoring. I like working with my peers,’” Betancourt said.
At USF, supplemental instruction is called PASS, short for peer-assisted study sessions. The ACS is tracking student participation in PASS to gauge use.
Students can also sign up to receive remote tutoring in select courses through the PORTAL (peer online resources for tutoring and learning), to supplement in-person opportunities when the office may be closed.
The impact: Over the past year, the center has seen a 75 percent year-over-year increase in student use.
Having a care team member on board has also been successful; Billue Jr. can physically walk a student across campus to the relevant office and make introductions as needed.
“It’s been well received by students; they take him up on the offer and they’ll walk with him,” Betancourt said.
The center has also expanded training for academic peer mentors to address not only study strategies and effective learning practices, but also how to make referrals to other offices.
The biggest lesson Betancourt has learned: There are a range of opportunities to engage students and connect with them, understanding those opportunities just requires a deeper look at what students need.
“We serve to engage students on campus, to engage students with each other, to engage students with faculty and with staff, and it’s looking at that a little bit closer to improve our services and how we can build on that,” Betancourt said.
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New College of Florida could soon expand its footprint in a significant way if plans to absorb a nearby museum and local branch campus of the University of South Florida come to fruition.
Current proposals would see New College taking over stewardship of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota and other associated properties and merging with USF Sarasota–Manatee. Such moves would nearly double New College’s acreage and triple its enrollment at a time when critics have raised questions about spending at NCF, where the cost to Florida taxpayers per student is roughly 10 times higher than any other institution in the State University System.
The proposed expansion would continue efforts to grow NCF after state leadership tasked a new board in 2022 with shifting the small liberal arts college in a conservative direction and growing its student body, which the administration has so far aimed to do by adding athletic programs.
But critics have raised concerns about a lack of transparency around both potential acquisitions and whether New College has the capacity to manage another campus and a sprawling art museum.
A Contested Acquisition
New College officials have quietly been preparing for a merger with USF Sarasota–Manatee for at least several months, according to public records obtained by WUSF, the local NPR affiliate.
A WUSF public records request turned up a draft press release from New College announcing the merger between the two institutions as well as talking points and details on the transition.
Details in the documents make the deal sound more like an acquisition than a merger.
Students will have the option to transfer to another USF campus “or remain at New College,” according to the documents. Under the proposed plan, USF Sarasota–Manatee employees would possibly be reassigned to other USF campuses or “to comparable roles” at New College.
University of South Florida Sarasota–Manatee main building.
Alaska Miller/Wikimedia Commons
Although it appears that New College would absorb USF Sarasota–Manatee in the merger, New College is the much smaller of the two institutions. In fall 2023, it enrolled 731 students compared to more than 2,000 at USF Sarasota–Manatee, according to details on the university website.
“As we reimagine the future of higher education in Florida, this integration is a testament to the power of collaboration,” New College of Florida president Richard Corcoran said in the news release obtained by WUSF. “Governor [Ron] Desantis [sic] has shown exceptional leadership in enabling this bold vision, one that positions New College to advance as a model of academic excellence while fostering economic innovation and impact in the Sarasota-Manatee region.”
The news release adds, “This collaboration is more than a merger,” casting it as “an opportunity to design a singular institution that meets the demands of the 21st century” and allows USF to focus on its mission as a research university and NCF to become the nation’s top liberal arts college.
“The integration also addresses longstanding inefficiencies, consolidating administrative functions and aligning academic offerings. USF-SM’s programs often overlap with those offered by other public higher education institutions in Sarasota and Manatee counties, including New College and State College of Florida,” part of the draft press release from New College reads.
New College officials did not respond to requests for comment from Inside Higher Ed.
USF president Rhea Law is also quoted in the draft press release, stating that “by coming together, we honor the distinct institution while creating a stronger foundation for the future of both institutions and our communities.”
But USF officials have distanced themselves from the announcement since it emerged publicly.
“Please be aware that the documents are several months old and include a draft press release and talking points that were prepared by New College. USF did not approve the proposal or communications drafted by New College. There have been no plans made to make any such announcement,” USF spokesperson Althea Johnson wrote to Inside Higher Ed by email.
However, Johnson noted that the two institutions have engaged in talks since last fall, when Florida Board of Governors chair Brian Lamb asked them to “identify additional synergies.”
Asked if NCF invented quotes attributed to Law and other USF officials, Johnson reiterated, “USF did not draft or approve of the communications. They were prepared by New College.”
Community members have also opposed the move. Last week more than a dozen former USF Sarasota–Manatee officials and community partners signed on to an open letter against the merger, calling the move “a bad deal for our students and families, employers and community.” They wrote, “There has been no community consultation on the impacts” of the proposal.
The merger proposal would require legislative approval. Although no bill has been filed, Republican state senator Joe Gruters—whose wife works at NCF—has thrown support behind the idea in interviews. Gruters did not respond to a request for comment from Inside Higher Ed.
Expanding Into the Arts
While NCF quietly planned to absorb USF Sarasota–Manatee, an effort to take stewardship of the Ringling Museum, currently administered by Florida State University, was also underway.
Visitors view paintings in the Ringling Museum of Art’s Peter Paul Rubens room.
When DeSantis unveiled his state budget plans in February, many observers were shocked to see a proposal for New College to take over the Ringling art museum and affiliated properties, which includes a former home of the namesake founder, and the Ringling Museum of the Circus.
Florida State has had stewardship of the Ringling properties since 2000. FSU’s responsibilities include managing the Ringling’s endowment and employing the staff that operate the facilities, which does everything from curate collections to provide security and other functions. One recent report counted 229 employees on the FSU payroll at the Ringling.
Many museum supporters are appalled at the idea of a New College takeover, including Nancy Parrish, a former member of its board and president of the nascent Citizens to Protect the Ringling. She argues FSU has transformed the Ringling from a property that had fallen into disrepair when it took over stewardship in 2000 to a thriving institution with annual surpluses. Parrish worries that NCF is incapable of taking on the same role and would upend that progress.
“New College is in a costly, complicated, precarious transition. How can it possibly manage an institution larger than itself? And an institution as complicated as a museum was never in its business plan. It’s outrageous government overreach and an outrageous waste of taxpayer money, because it would take millions to replace what FSU provides the museum,” Parrish said.
The timeline for the proposed transition from FSU to NCF by Aug. 1 is also rushed, she argues.
Amid the uncertainty over the Ringling’s future, she said that “donors are fleeing in panic.”
Details on how NCF would take over the operations are not laid out in the DeSantis proposal, and NCF officials did not fulfill a public records request about the transition prior to publication.
“This transition is not only sensible; it is a collective win. It is a win for Sarasota, reinforcing its reputation as a global leader in the arts and higher education; boosting tourism, cultural engagement and economic growth—all while preserving a historical gem,” Corcoran wrote.
He added that NCF stewardship would both expand “research partnerships, student engagement and statewide academic initiatives in the arts and humanities” and provide “an infusion of resources” to allow it “to elevate its world-class exhibitions, research and outreach.”
FSU did not respond to requests for comment from Inside Higher Ed.
The Financial Picture
New College’s potential expansion comes as it has grown in other ways since DeSantis appointed a conservative board that tapped Corcoran, a former GOP lawmaker, as president.
Since 2022, NCF has added six intercollegiate teams and plans to field 24 altogether by 2028. Beyond the inaugural programs in sports such as basketball, baseball and soccer, New College plans to expand to tennis, golf, bass fishing and various other athletic pursuits. NCF is investing in developing its athletic facilities in addition to paying for coaches and athletic scholarships.
New College’s strategic transformation has come with a substantial price tag for taxpayers. The state has already infused New College with millions of dollars since the change in leadership. And NCF’s leaders want more state money—at least $200 million over the next decade.
But that spending has prompted some pushback from the DeSantis-appointed Florida Board of Governors, which oversees New College and other members of the State University System.
FLBOG member Eric Silagy has challenged Corcoran at times on financial transparency and the high cost per student, calculating that NCF spent $91,000 per student in the 2023–24 academic year. The system average is $10,000, Silagy said at a September board meeting.
Corcoran initially disputed that number, arguing it was $68,000 per head.
But at a January meeting, Silagy said he had spoken with Corcoran, who now agreed that figure was between $88,000 and $91,000 per student, a figure Silagy said continues to climb. He projects that NCF could soon spend between $114,000 and $140,000 for each student.
Concerns about fiscal management also prompted a shake-up at the New College Alumni Association last month, when then-director Ben Brown resigned in protest because of “a deteriorating institutional relationship” between the college and alumni, and concerns that Corcoran had squandered funds. Brown also wanted more transparency.
Brown told Inside Higher Ed he is concerned about the state giving Corcoran more power.
“There’s no ingrained alumni opposition to the idea of being part of USF or doing things jointly with USF, but the current alumni sentiment is very clear that for this administration, operating the way it is, to take responsibility for part of USF is dangerous to the state and to the taxpayers,” Brown said.
