The plan looks like a ‘guppy trying to swallow a whale’, group argues.
Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: Feb. 26, 2025
Host: Early this month, news broke that Gov. Ron DeSantis wants the state legislature to fund a shift of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art under the umbrella of New College. For the past 25 years, the century-old art institution has been under the umbrella of Tallahassee-based Florida State University, the state’s second-biggest college. Last week, a group of insiders emerged that actively opposes the plan. WSLR News talked to one of them, a former chair of the museum’s foundation. She says a New College takeover of the museum is like a guppy trying to swallow a whale.
Johannes Werner: After two weeks of silence from FSU, its president responded. During an online meeting of the FSU faculty senate Wednesday last week, Richard McCullough said “We, of course, desire to keep The Ringling, and we’ll do everything we can to make that clear.” McCullough did not elaborate during that meeting.
Then, last week, a group of skeptics formed a non-profit called Citizens Protect The Ringling, launched a website and posted a public statement opposing the governor’s plan. The group includes donors, board members of the Ringling Museum Foundation and former chairs of the foundation, including Nancy Parrish.
Nancy Parrish.
Nancy Parrish: The historic Ringling is the crown jewel of a rapidly growing Gulf Coast. It receives 400,000 visitors to this area. We believe that the takeover by New College would risk the museum’s multi-million dollar assets.
Parrish is a long-time arts booster in Sarasota and a former chair of the museum’s foundation, whose board would be dissolved under the plan. She said New College is too small to take over the museum, and that may end up damaging an arts institution that is iconic for Sarasota.
NP: Mr. Corcoran has expressed the reasons why the stewardship of The Ringling should move from FSU to New College is because of its geographic proximity, and geographic proximity has nothing to do with capacity. New College lacks the capacity to steward this vast historic cultural complex, from funding and expertise to infrastructure and professional staff. It has none of that, and in fact, it has its own ambitious, yet-to-be-proven plans to transform New College. It needs more capital. It has its own issues, its own challenges ahead. The Ringling is a multi-complex facility much larger than New College itself. New College attempting to take over is like a guppy trying to swallow a whale. It’s just not going to work, and it will be a detriment to The Ringling.
Aerial view of the Ringling Museum of Art.
JW: She believes New College is not only too small, its president is too busy.
NP: It was just 24 months ago that Richard Corcoran, the president of New College, embarked upon an ambitious, yet-to-be-proven plan to transform New College, which requires more capital than he currently has—more professional resources, his focus, his time.
JW: And she points out that Richard Corcoran’s proposal, which she says underlies the governor’s budget proposal, strips protections for the museum’s assets. Her fear is that The Ringling’s 66 acres, sandwiched between New College’s main and Caples campus, could end up fair game for plans unrelated to, and not in the best interest of, the museum.
NP: Richard Corcoran, for some time, has wanted the Ringling Museum’s vast 66-acre property which is next to New College. He needs ground. He needs property. He needs assets. He’s out of both. There were protections. Those protections fall away. Of the 66 acres, the only protection in John Ringling’s will is the museum building itself and the Ca d’Zan. The grounds are open for whatever Richard Corcoran and New College would want to do with them.
JW: Parrish fears for the future of the land, the buildings, and what’s in them. Apparently, the current proposal would terminate the museum foundation’s board and allow the sale of more recent art. Over the last few years, for example, the museum has been acquiring art from artists of color.
FSU’s Ringling campus in Sarasota is sandwiched by New College’s main and Caples campus. It also includes the Asolo Repertory Theatre (lower half of the photo).
NP: The Corcoran proposal that is contained in the governor’s budget erases the existing statutory protections of The Ringling and valuable art collection and grounds. The proposal terminates the statewide foundation board. It transfers Ringling’s management of the Center for Performing Arts, which houses the ballet and the Asolo, to New College. It transfers all of the assets to New College. New College would have the authority to sell art post-1936, as one example.
JW: One of the ways the group is trying to stop the DeSantis plan is asking supporters to talk to state legislators. Local state representatives have not spoken publicly about the governor’s proposal. State Sen. Joe Gruters has made a non-committal statement, saying the governor’s plan to move all the FSU assets in Sarasota to New College is worth exploring.
We reached out to New College to respond to Parrish’s concerns. The communications department referred to an op-ed Richard Corcoran published in The Observer earlier this month. In it, he said New College would “preserve a historical gem,” give it “an infusion of resources,” strengthen its “growth and academic prestige,” and increase “local stewardship.”
More information about the group here.
Reporting for WSLR News, this has been Johannes Werner.
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