“Florida’s New College Conundrum: A Governor’s Surprising Statement on Women’s Education”
Title: Florida Governor Appoints Controversial Professor to University of West Florida Board of Trustees
Tallahassee, Fla. (AP) — For years, political scientist Scott Yenor has advocated for an overhaul of colleges and universities, arguing that the institutions encourage women to pursue careers and delay having children, thereby destroying the traditional American family. With his recent appointment to the University of West Florida (UWF) Board of Trustees by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Yenor may now have the opportunity to implement his policy recommendations.
Yenor’s appointment to the UWF board, along with four others, was met with significant backlash from critics who have dubbed DeSantis’ move as a “hostile takeover” of the public school system. In 2021, DeSantis appointed a new board of trustees to another public school, The New School of Florida, which ultimately led to the firing of the current president and the replacement of a former state lawmaker and ally of the governor.
As a professor at Boise State University, Yenor has written extensively on the dangers of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in higher education and the decline of traditional marriage and birth rates in the United States. He is a strong advocate for what he calls the “2025 Plan,” a policy blueprint for a far-right shift in the U.S. government and society.
Yenor’s views on gender roles have sparked controversy, with him labeling “independent women” as “medicated, nosy, quarrelsome” and denouncing universities as “the bastions of feminism.” He argues that institutions encourage women to delay motherhood, leading to the destruction of the traditional American family.
The professor has also been critical of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, calling for a reduction in the number of women in engineering, medicine, and law. He believes that society should focus on recruiting and retaining more men in these fields, as he believes “every effort should be made not to recruit women into engineering, but to recruit and require more men to become engineers.”
The new UWF board members must be approved by the Florida Senate, and Chasidy Hobbs, a lecturer in earth and environmental sciences and president of the UWF faculty union, expressed her concerns about Yenor’s appointment, calling his views “disheartening” and “disgusting.” Others, like Julia Friedland, the governor’s deputy press secretary, praised the new board members, saying they would “disrupt the status quo” and “help the university refocus on its core mission of education.”
Yenor did not respond to questions from The Associated Press about his past remarks, but he expressed his support for DeSantis’ education agenda, stating, “Education systems shape culture. Our current education system, with its divisive DEI policies and ideological monoculture, has produced an increasingly bad culture.” He also praised Florida’s education system, citing DeSantis’ policies as a success.
FAQs:
* What is Scott Yenor’s role in the University of West Florida?
Yenor has been appointed to the University of West Florida Board of Trustees by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
* What are Yenor’s views on gender roles?
Yenor believes that institutions of higher education encourage women to delay motherhood, leading to the destruction of the traditional American family. He has labeled “independent women” as “medicated, nosy, quarrelsome” and denounces universities as “the bastions of feminism.”
* What are Yenor’s views on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives?
Yenor is critical of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in higher education, calling for a reduction in the number of women in engineering, medicine, and law. He believes that society should focus on recruiting and retaining more men in these fields.
Conclusion:
Yenor’s appointment to the UWF Board of Trustees has sparked widespread controversy, with many critics questioning his views on gender roles and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. As the new board members must be approved by the Florida Senate, the appointment remains under scrutiny, with some praising DeSantis’ education agenda and others expressing concerns about Yeno’s past remarks. Only time will tell how Yenor’s views will shape the future of higher education in Florida.
