Jeanette Nuñez has been installed as “acting president” of Florida International University.
The smart money says she’ll soon be permanent.
Her qualifications? Let’s see: She graduated from FIU 30 years ago, served in the Legislature, and was Ron DeSantis’ lieutenant governor.
That’s pretty much it.
Oh, and her about-face on in-state tuition for DACA recipients, whose only crime was being brought to the U.S. as children.
In 2014, she helped push the bill granting Dreamers the same tuition rate as other Florida resident students.
Now this daughter of Cuban exiles has turned on these Floridian kids.
Sen. Jason Pizzo via Florida Channe’ screengrab
As Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Sunny Isles, put it, Nuñez chose to “do a 180 for political expediency, drop a $120-thousand position and exchange it for a million-dollar position, at the university with the most number of in-state tuition waivers for undocumented kids.”
FIU once prided itself on educating Dreamers, declaring, “DACA and undocumented students have a home at FIU.”
The faculty don’t want her; the students are protesting; Panther Now, the FIU newspaper, calls her a “political nepo baby.”
But DeSantis wants her, so the FIU Board of Trustees snaps to attention and barks, “Yes, sir!”
DeSantis, the lame duck and failed presidential candidate, may have lost much of his hold on the Legislature but, given that he appoints state university trustees, our institutions must still suffer his anti-intellectualism, his spite, and his obsession with “woke.”
Like FIU, Florida Atlantic has also been landed with a new president, an unimpressive ex-legislator who once proudly declared himself “the most partisan Republican in Tallahassee.”
Adam Hasner beat out FSU’s dean of the College of Business and the University of Maine’s provost: two genuinely qualified candidates.
The governor prefers political hacks.
Outraged students, faculty
Hasner’s executive experience consists of being vice president for public policy at Geo Group, a Boca Raton-based private prison corporation.
Geo Group has been accused of forcing inmates to into virtual slavery, witholding food if they didn’t work for the prison.
FAU’s faculty have decried his appointment, and outraged FAU students have pointed out a university is not the same as a prison.
Not yet, anyway.
The University of West Florida is in the middle of a hostile takeover by ultra-conservative trustees, several of whom are affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, authors of the misogynistic, homophobic, white supremacist Project 2025.
These nominees are not an impressive bunch: The only one who actually lives in the area is an NRA instructor and graduate of Pensacola Christian College, an entity unaccredited by any reputable academic assessment organization.
Another teaches at Boise State in whiter-than-Wonder-Bread Idaho, where he is given to bizarre pronouncements on the evils of college-educated women who, turned uppity by all that book-learning, fail to fulfill their God-mandated role as stay-at-home mamas.
Scott Yenor says women who defy decency by insisting on a career should always make much less money than men.
His plans for UWF include abolishing its anthropology department and its distinguished archeology program.
He thinks no one need to study human cultures except to learn that Western Civilization is the only real civilization and “patriarchy” is the natural order of things.
Yenor may not actually be a shoo-in: He needs Senate confirmation, and his X-posts suggesting only “non-Jewish white men” should hold power have riled the combustible Sen. Randy Fine, enraged by what he sees as Yenor’s blatant antisemitism.
Incompetent, arrogant, fiscally irresponsible
The bipartisan legislative Jewish Caucus isn’t real happy, either.
We’ll see who wins this contest: DeSantis (who says he didn’t know Yenor said that stuff!) or horrified Floridians from the Perdido River to the House and Senate chambers.
Seriously, y’all: Anybody who’s too extreme for the Randy Fine, proud member of the Attila the Hun Fan Club, shouldn’t be within 50 miles of any Florida institution of higher education.
Maybe if somebody tells Yenor that, despite DeSantis’s best efforts, Florida is full of non-Aryans, he’ll stay out west.
Prolifigacy
Again, the professors and the students — the people who teach at UWF and learn at UWF, the people for whom the university exists — want Yenor deep-sixed.
Of course, nominating an ignorant yahoo is on-brand for DeSantis.
Installing incompetent, arrogant, and fiscally irresponsible presidents at colleges and universities is, too.
Sen. Ben Sasse answers questions from the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees before they vote on him to serve as UF’s next president on Nov. 1, 2022, via University of Florida screenshot.
Ben Sasse, the disgraced former president of UF, stands out as one of DeSantis’ stupidest moves.
The Florida auditor general found that Sasse, a former U.S. senator from Nebraska, spent money like a drunken sailor.
He hired D.C. cronies at way above market rates and didn’t require them to live in Gainesville; he blew $300,000 chartering UF’s Athletic Association’s private jets to do God knows what; he threw absurdly expensive parties — one with a $38,000 sushi bar at a cost of about $900 per guest.
Whose bright idea was it to hire Sasse?
That would be Ron DeSantis and UF board chair, developer Mori Hosseini — at the time, one of the governor’s university enforcers.
These two also imposed our anti-vaxxer surgeon general upon UF’s medical school, where he does next to nothing yet draws a fat salary in addition to his job at the Department of Health.
‘Transformational leader’
When Sasse was announced as UF’s new leader, state politicos hailed him as a “transformational leader,” though a more accurate description would be “useless and not very smart.”
Sasse is given to spouting dim-witted, ill-phrased educational theories he clearly imagines are cutting-edge when they’re simply nonsense. Stuff like: “Our monolithic system lacks incentives to empower social entrepreneurs to spark intellectual curiosity” and “a thriving system will cultivate a student’s self-awareness about different learning styles and help them develop a style that works for them.”
Those of us in the academy would first take a red pencil to this pitiful excuse for English and explain that “cultivating” different “learning styles” and “sparking intellectual curiosity” is what we call “teaching.”
Appointing university presidents used to take place out in the open, where taxpayers could see the process. But now the process is so secret, only the names of finalists become public.
After a mere 17 months on the job, Sasse “resigned” (translation: was pushed out by the irascible Hosseini, who decided he didn’t like the way Sasse and DeSantis seemed to be in cahoots), but shed no tears for him: He’ll continue to receive $1 million a year plus full benefits until 2028.
This kind of profligate, time and energy-wasting, embarrassing nonsense is what you get when politicians who don’t understand education choose politicians who don’t know what they’re doing in an opaque process hidden from the citizens who foot the bills.
Nevertheless, the big money showered on Sasse and his gold-plated lieutenants looks like a bargain compared to what’s been going on at New College, once Florida’s highly regarded honors college, now a taxpayer-funded Heritage Foundation training camp.
Jock college
DeSantis’ hand-picked trustees installed Richard Corcoran, a man singularly lacking in intellect, training, and relevant experience, as president, paying him more than twice the salary of his eminently qualified predecessor.
Richard Corcoran via New College website
The big bucks don’t stop there: Though the value of a New College degree has tanked, it spends way, way more money per capita than any public university in the state.
A member of the state Board of Governors figures it costs the place around 90 grand per student.
The state average is $10,000 per student.
Richard Corcoran insists it’s really only $68,000 each.
They’ve now agreed it’s somewhere between $88,000 and $91,000.
So that’s all right.
Nevertheless, Board of Governor’s member Eric Silagy has questions: New College is “spending a lot more money to educate a very small number of students that already cost exponentially more of state taxpayer dollars to educate. And I personally have real concerns with that.”
He’s also concerned about the $1.5 million spent on athletics, especially since “that’s a violation of the Board of Governors rule.”
Corcoran, another DeSantis-sponsored grifter, doesn’t care. He’s fired faculty, ditched programs, and admitted kids with low test scores to play baseball.
He wants to run a jock college.
By the way, if Silagy’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he used to be CEO of Florida Power & Light Co., one of the state’s most despised corporations.
He resigned in 2023 when he and FPL were accused of campaign finance violations, trying to disguise advertisements as legitimate news stories, spying on reporters, and all sorts of other sleazy stuff.
In Florida, guys like him never slink off in disgrace: They land on an important board of trustees.
In Florida, guys like him never slink off in disgrace: They land on an important board of trustees.
But the really bizarre thing is that Silagy talks more sense than New College’s president.
Florida’s public colleges and universities are struggling.
MAGA’s rage when professors teach our sometimes-shameful history, their discomfort with scientific realities from the climate crisis to vaccine efficacy, and their attempts to block students from encountering ideas that challenge American exceptionalism, means some institutions fear telling the truth.
An uneducated populace is a compliant populace: Ron DeSantis is trying to destroy higher education in this state, reducing universities to Christian Nationalist support systems for sports teams.
College is no longer about intellectual excellence: It’s about the governor’s war against the 21st Century.
This column has been updated to reflect that Silagy is a member of the state Board of Governors.
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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
SUMMARY: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has instructed military services to identify $50 billion in potential program cuts for the next year to fund President Trump’s priorities. These cuts will target “excessive bureaucracy” and programs related to climate change and diversity initiatives. Deputy Secretary Robert Salesses emphasized a focus on military readiness and securing borders, including the development of the Iron Dome air defense system. The planned cuts, reminiscent of the 2013 sequestration, aim to streamline the military budget as the Pentagon prepares its fiscal year 2026 request. Specific details on which programs will be cut remain unclear.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Steve Wilson | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-02-19 17:16:00
(The Center Square) — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed several agreements between state law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday to deputize them as part of immigration enforcement statewide.
The 287(g) agreements were reached with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida State Guard.
“Florida is setting the example for states in combating illegal immigration and working with the Trump Administration to restore the rule of law,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Tallahassee. “By allowing our state agents and law enforcement officers to be trained and approved by ICE, Florida will now have more enforcement personnel deputized to assist federal partners. That means deportations can be carried out more efficiently, making our communities safer as illegal aliens are removed.”
A similar agreement is already in effect with the Florida Highway Patrol, along with the Florida Department of Agricultural Law Enforcement.
These agreements allow state law enforcement to perform immigration officer functions, which includes identifying and removing incarcerated criminal foreign nationals who are eligible for removal before they are rereleased into the community.
Sworn officers will have the ability under the 287(g) agreements to interrogate any suspected illegal alien as to their immigration status. If they’re in violation of the country’s immigration laws, they can be further detained and processed.
These officers will also be able to arrest and detain any foreign national trying to enter the country through the state’s ports or coastline.
They will also have the power to serve and execute warrants of arrest for immigration violations and deliver migrants to ICE for further screening.
Florida state law enforcement and State Guard members will also be able to administer oaths and take evidence during processing and prepare affidavits and the taking of sworn statements for ICE supervisory review.
People injured by the state government or any of its subdivisions would have an easier time suing for damages and could receive larger payouts under a bill approved by a House panel Wednesday morning.
In a near-unanimous vote, the House Civil Justice Subcommittee voted to approve HB 301, by Rep. Fiona McFarland.
The bill increases the state’s sovereign immunity limits, taking them from $200,000 per person to $1 million and from $300,000 per occurrence to $3 million. Moreover, the bill makes clear that political subdivisions can settle cases beyond those limits without having to obtain advance approval in the form of a special legislative act.
It also prohibits insurance policies from conditioning payment of settlements on the enactment of a claims bill.
All changes that lobbyist took aim at during the meeting.
Sovereign immunity stems from the Latin phrase “rex non potest peccare,” which translates to “the king cannot commit a legal wrong.” In legal terms, it refers to the state’s authority to exempt itself as a legal sovereign from civil lawsuits, although the state does allow negligence claims against itself and its subdivisions — agencies, cities, counties, and public hospitals — within limits.
Injured parties can sue for damages and collect within the liability thresholds established by law, but if they win awards in excess of the limits they must go to the Legislature in the form of what’s called a claims bill to collect the payment.
The claims bill process is lengthy and allows the defendant to challenge a jury verdict.
Once a claims bill is filed, each chamber’s presiding officer refers it to a special master, who essentially reconsiders the jury’s recommendation. Claims bills also go before House and Senate committees that consider special masters’ recommendations. Ultimately, the bills must pass in both chambers.
It’s not unusual for claims bills to take years to pass, if ever.
I’m pleased as punch when I walked around the Capitol yesterday, when I saw every local government, every hospital, I think the entire lobby corps was walking around yesterday, and this might be the only bill that the House is hearing this week, so I feel very special.
– Rep. Fiona McFarland
There are more than 100 lobbyist registrations on the bill, which is opposed by the Florida League of Cities, the Florida Association of Counties, the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, and school boards across the state.
Conversely, the bill is supported by the Florida Justice Association, which represents the state’s trial attorneys.
Florida Justice Association member and trial attorney Eric Tinstman (Photo via FJA)
‘Pleased as punch’
McFarland joked about the amount of lobbying taking place on the bill during her closing remarks Wednesday morning.
“I’m pleased as punch when I walked around the Capitol yesterday, when I saw every local government, every hospital, I think the entire lobby corps was walking around yesterday, and this might be the only bill that the House is hearing this week, so I feel very special,” she said.
“But I’m glad you’re hearing their voices. I’m hearing voices too,” she said, rattling off a long list of names of Florida residents who have been injured by the government and its political subdivisions who have filed claims bills to receive their payments. “I hear those voices.”
McFarland, who filed similar legislation last year, promised she would work with interested parties on the legislation as it moves through the committee process. The bill heads to the House Budget and Judiciary committees next.
McFarland said she was willing to discuss the new proposed sovereign immunity limits but wasn’t quite sure where they should be set.
She won’t negotiate on one key point though — that the new limits won’t apply retroactively. Currently, the bill has an Oct. 1 effective date, although McFarland said she would be willing to reconsider that.
Several lobbyists on Wednesday testified that the $1 million and $3 million limits would jack up their insurance costs and those increases would ultimately have to be borne by the local taxpayer. Governmental entities that are self-insured, and therefore on the hook to pay the claim out of their reserves, would be forced to request a special appropriation from the Legislature to cover the increased liability limits.
McFarland, though, noted that cities, counties, and other governmental entities routinely seek funding requests for special projects and that she herself has filed an appropriations request this year for solar panels. “I’m going to fight really strong for that. My local government tells me they need it. But I would also like to fight really strongly for each of the claims bills that come up. “
Pot-of-gold syndrome
Panhandle Area Educational Consortium lobbyist Bob Harris said increasing the limits will boost the number of lawsuits filed against his clients, school boards in small counties in that region.
Lobbyist Bob Harris (Photo via Messer Caparello P.A.)
“We know there will be more cases. If this happens, you increase the rates to $1 million and $3 million. We call it the pot-of-gold-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow syndrome. If you increase the size of the pot of gold, more people are going to go for that. And again, we know more cases will result in more cost for our school districts,” Harris said.
An attorney who defends the school districts when sued, Harris described a number of lawsuits on his desk that have been filed against the school districts, involving softball players suing their coach for not giving them enough play time or a football player suing his coach for penalizing him for missing practices. Another parent is suing a school district for negligence after their child “got his butt beat” in a physical education class.
“It’s those kind of lawsuits that we’re facing. And if you increase these caps and the amount that’s being recommended, I don’t know how we possibly can afford that,” he said.
In addition to opposing the increase in caps, Harris said that authorizing governmental entities to settle claims beyond the sovereign immunity limits would eviscerate the idea of limits altogether.
“The one thing I can negotiate with when I’m dealing with plaintiff lawyers on these issues is the cap, the sovereign immunity caps. If you take those away, I don’t have that as leverage. The claims are going to be four or five, six million. Every single one of them. And that’s a problem.”
The existing caps were set by the Legislature in the early 1970s and last adjusted in 2010.
Florida League of Cities lobbyist David Cruz recommended that the Legislature tie the caps to the consumer price index, which, he said, would yield new limits of $280,000 per individual and $420,000 per occurrence.
The Legislature also could review other states’ sovereign immunity laws and adjust Florida’s accordingly, he suggested, noting that Texas limits are set at $250,000 per individual and $500,000 per occurrence. Another option, Cruz said, would be to mirror the caps that were proposed in House and Senate legislation last year, which ranged from a low of $300,000 per person to a high of $600,000 per incident.
Cruz stressed, though, that the requirement for a claims bill process should remain intact.
“There is value in going to that special master process,” Cruz said.
Anti-American
Miami attorney Eric Tinstman, a Florida Justice Association member, said the concept of sovereign immunity is “anti-American.”
“I can think of no more anti-American statement than the king can do no wrong,” he said.
Tinstman defended the portion of the bill that allows a governmental entity to settle a claim without first going through the claims bill process and having a special master reconsider the case and make its own findings and facts, he told the committee.
“A special master is how Europe does it. They don’t have juries. They don’t have their people, their community, to decide what the damages are, what the liability is. It’s all special masters,” he said. “We like the way our country works. We leave it to our community, juries, and judges who are appointed and elected by the people, not some special master.”
Tinstman views the $1 million and $3 million caps as reasonable. In response to adjusting the sovereign immunity limits by inflation, Tinstman said, the adjustment should be made to the initial $50,000 cap in 1973 not the 2010 cap.
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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
