President Corcoran: Resistance or not, planning for growth is imperative.
By Alice Herman/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: March 14, 2025
Host: What’s the endgame for the “new” New College? Alice Herman with the Suncoast Searchlight puts the spotlight on the campus administrators’ ambitious real estate expansion plans.
Alice Herman: It’s been two years since Governor Ron DeSantis launched a dramatic effort to transform New College of Florida, installing political allies in key roles to fight a culture war and grow the college.
Under the leadership of college president Richard Corcoran, a former Republican State House Speaker, New College has set its sights on growth. But that growth has come with controversy. The school’s expansion plans have repeatedly put it at odds with the Sarasota community and other institutions.
Students walking at New College. Photo by Emily LeCoz via Suncoast Searchlight.
Shortly after taking office in 2023, Corcoran unveiled a plan to increase enrollment by nearly 70 percent by 2028. But with no new dormitories, and with its historic dorms plagued by mold, the college has been forced to spend millions housing students in hotels and temporary buildings.
To accommodate, New College has pursued land acquisitions. In late 2023, Manatee County granted the college nine acres from the Powel Crosley Estate—land that had originally been offered to the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. Then, in early 2024, the school attempted to buy 31 acres from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, but that deal fell apart after the Federal Aviation Administration deemed it improper.
New College’s historic campus and the Powel Crosley Estate land is indicated by the blue region; the Ringling Museum land, currently managed by FSU, is indicated by the yellow region. Map by Rob Winkler and Alice Herman via Suncoast Searchlight.
Most recently, Governor DeSantis proposed transferring the 66-acre Ringling Museum of Art from Florida State University to New College.
The move has been met with outrage from museum supporters. Seven former chairs of the Ringling Museum of Art Foundation penned a letter, calling it an existential threat to the institution and urging state lawmakers to reject the proposal.
Critics argue that New College’s expansion efforts are reckless, threatening historic and cultural landmarks, green spaces, and the school’s relationship with the local community. But Corcoran, whose office did not return multiple requests for comment, sees it differently.
“It became imperative to develop a plan for growth before the school went insolvent, even if not all decisions during the transition were universally embraced,” he wrote, in a forthcoming copy of his memoir.
This has been Alice Herman, reporting for Suncoast Searchlight.
Host: To read the full report on the New College expansion, go to suncoastsearchlight.org/how-new-college-has-pursued-its-aggressive-expansion-through-land-acquisitions.
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