Another battle is brewing at New College of Florida, this time between the administration and the NCF Foundation. Chairman Richard Corcoran and the board are seeking to exercise more authority over the direct-support fundraising organization, including the power to remove members without cause.

Some critics say Corcoran and the board are trying to exert more control over the foundation so they can use its restricted funds — which are reserved for scholarships, endowed faculty positions and other designations — to support new sports programs and other costly initiatives.

But NCF trustees largely dismissed those concerns, alleging the foundation misspent its funds before Corcoran’s appointment, necessitating additional oversight from the board.

Board Changes Approved

It’s the latest in a series of clashes that have taken place at the small public liberal arts college since early 2023, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. appointed a new cohort of administrators to engineer a conservative overhaul of the institution, he said it had veered off course.

Advice quickly impeached the president and installed Corcoran, a former Republican lawmaker, who clashed with professors over shared governance and system overhaul. basic programand faces scrutiny from the Florida Board of Governors for unbridled spending.

Today, Corcoran and his administrators are raising concerns among donors and alumni, who fear they will abuse their power to redirect restricted funds.

To a meeting TuesdayThe board approved two changes that alarmed critics. First, the board amended the NCF bylaws to allow Corcoran to remove foundation board members without cause. Trustees then voted to allow the president of the college’s board of trustees to appoint up to three representatives to the foundation board. Critics pointed out that current board chair Debra Jenks had already appointed three members to the foundation and alleged that trustees deliberately misinterpreted the board’s authority to appoint “at least one” member. Historically, “at least one” meant that the NCF administrators appointed only one member.

The changes to NCF’s bylaws have irked some alumni who fear that if officials are allowed to supply the foundation board, they will use restricted funds to pay for sports and Corcoran’s $1 million salary as they go. as the expenses add up. By law, Florida universities are only allowed to spend $200,000 in state funds on presidents’ salaries, leaving foundations to fill the gap.

Ben Brown, an ex-officio member of the foundation and president of the New College Alumni Association, expressed concern in a recent letter to the board that the regulatory changes would “facilitate a reduction in checks and balances in its financial management. He added, “If all members of the Foundation’s board of directors serve at the pleasure of a single person, the President of the College, would essentially concentrate oversight of the Foundation’s finances instead of having multiple independent sources of oversight .

In a follow-up interview with Inside higher educationBrown, a lawyer in New York, argued that the NCF was treading into “murky legal territory.” He added that it was unclear whether the board could force the foundation to update its bylaws to accept the adopted regulatory changes.

Brian Cody, a New College graduate who served as a student trustee in 2004 and 2005 and was previously a foundation board member, raised similar concerns. He fears the changes are an attempt to exploit tight funds to pay for Corcoran’s salary, newly created athletic programs and increased lobbying efforts, which he says may already be happening .

“The foundation has a lot of money that is restricted,” Cody said. “They are intended for scholarships; they are intended for very specific uses. And when we look at the high-level budgets they give to their administrators at these public meetings, our basic calculation is that there is no way they can pay Corcoran’s salary, sports and these lobbyists without using dollars restricted. .”

Patrick McDonald, the faculty representative on the board, expressed concern about the long-term impact of the decision.

“The president, whoever he is, will have the ability to remove the (foundation) board of directors and, in doing so, circumvent any meaningful oversight,” he said at the board meeting. administration on Tuesday. “I view this as a real threat to the staffing, and I don’t see a benefit that outweighs this risk.”

McDonald and student councilor Olivia Mikkelsen were the only ones to vote against the board changes.

Trustee Matthew Spalding argued the regulatory changes were “simple” and that New College’s board of trustees had fiduciary authority over the foundation. He added that the FLBOG regulations give the NCF the ability to create “conditions, controls and requirements” for direct support organizations and delegate foundation oversight authority to the president.

Trustee Mark Bauerlein also argued the board could intervene if necessary.

“I share Administrator McDonald’s concern about the consolidation of power, but if we see the President or anyone else in senior management exercising that power in an arbitrary or capricious way, or in a personal way, we we have a duty, an obligation to respond, and that’s what we will do,” Bauerlein said at the board meeting.

For their part, NCF officials considered the foundations to be adrift. Alex Tzoumas, the college’s audit director and compliance officer, said a recent audit of the past six fiscal years found the foundation had been operating on restricted funds and at times operating at a deficit. Tzoumas said the foundation was in a “desperate situation” until the new administration took office.

Officials also argued that some Florida colleges have similar regulations in place.

On Wednesday, Corcoran used his newfound power, ostensibly removing Susan Burns and Larry Geimer from the foundation board. A memo sent by Corcoran and obtained by Inside higher education provided little explanation for the withdrawal; the president wrote to Burns that he had “determined that it is in the best interests of the New College of Florida and the New College Foundation” to remove her as a board member. A New College spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The fallout

The changes come at a time when the New College Foundation is also under new leadership; Corcoran tapped Sydney Gruters, a political activist and wife of Republican lawmaker Joe Gruters, to lead the organization despite his no prior experience in higher education. Director of donor relations Alice Rothbauer is another hire from conservative political circles.

Cody believes the regulatory changes will hurt donor relations, especially among alumni. He said alumni giving has suffered since the new board was elected last year and began making changes, including eliminate NCF’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a gender studies programboth of which sparked outrage from alumni and parents.

“The alumni really stopped giving to the foundation,” Cody said.

Brown, a foundation board member and president of the Alumni Association, expressed similar concerns. He worries not only about a potential financial crisis for the New College Foundation, but also the implications for direct support organizations across the state. Administrator Chris Rufo presented the conservative overhaul of the NCF as a plan to reconquer public universitiesand Brown wonders if other foundations are ready to take on similar fights.

In his letter to the board, Brown cited “an emerging statewide issue regarding the degree of control that state university system institutions have over their affiliated (foundations).” Brown also noted ongoing litigation between Florida Atlantic University and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, which is part of FAU.

The HBOI Foundation, a direct support organization for the oceanographic institute, sued FAU in 2017. The lawsuit came after FAU leaders asked the foundation to donate to a new football facility, which the organization refused to do, arguing its funds could only be spent ‘to marine research. The foundation alleged that FAU violated the memorandum of understanding established when it absorbed the then-independent oceanographic institute in a 2007 merger.

This case, which is moving slowly, is currently before the Florida Supreme Court.

At New College, Brown wonders what a possible takeover of the foundation could mean both for institutional finances and for the supposed independence of these organizations across the Sunshine State. He hopes other foundations will follow the fight.

“The statute that governs DSOs is ambiguous and murky in many respects, and this attempt to assert authority on the part of Richard Corcoran could cause various anxieties, concerns and questions among all of these other direct support organizations,” he said. Brown said. .