‘Focused on the pursuit of truth’: Gov. DeSantis touts higher ed record as changes continue

On a day when two Florida universities picked new leaders, Gov. Ron DeSantis promoted his overhaul of the state’s higher education system as he continues to get involved in picking school leaders.

“The goal of our university system is education, not indoctrination,” DeSantis said during a press conference. “We are not going to go down the road of a Columbia University or some of these places which, their whole academic programs have really been corrupted by ideology.”

University of West Florida Trustees named Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. as the school’s interim President even as a pair of Trustees voiced concerns about the decision being rushed and lacking transparency.

University of Florida Trustees also unanimously hired Santa Ono to be UF’s next leader. Ono had DeSantis’ support. But some Republican leaders, including U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, criticized the pick.

DeSantis did not directly bring up UF’s or UWF’s hirings at the press conference as he discussed changes Florida has made in recent years to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and require post-tenure review. 

“We were the first state in the nation to eliminate DEI from our public university system. We did that years ago,” DeSantis said. “But in 2023, for us to do that, we were standing alone at the time. Now, the winds have shifted and we’ve got the wind on our back on that.”

DeSantis added that public universities should be “focused on the pursuit of truth.”

“We want to make sure that the programs are rigorous, and we want to make sure we’re preparing our students to be citizens of this republic,” he said.

DeSantis made his higher education comments during an Apopka press conference where he also signed HB 999 to make gold and silver proper legal tender and pledged not to give state money to the Tampa Bay Rays stadium.