New College of Florida was originally founded on the idea that higher education should challenge convention, encourage independent thinking, and give students and faculty freedom from rigid academic structures. For decades, the unconventional public honors college cultivated a reputation as one of Florida’s most intellectually independent institutions.
Then Gov. Ron DeSantis decided it needed a makeover.
Beginning in 2023, DeSantis appointed a conservative majority to the school’s Board of Trustees, setting in motion a sweeping ideological transformation that included leadership changes, faculty departures, and a shift toward a more traditional, conservative vision of higher education.
Now, an invitation to actor Russell Brand is raising an uncomfortable question about just how far that transformation has taken New College from its original mission.
The British comedian was scheduled to appear as part of the school’s Socratic Stage Dialogue Series in April 2025 for an event titled “Thinking Without Permission: A Conversation with Russell Brand on Free Speech, Censorship, and Cultural Power.”
Instead, the college spent more than a year defending its decision to host him despite mounting allegations of sexual misconduct.
On Nov. 5, 2026, a U.K. jury found Brand guilty of rape and sexual assault. He was subsequently sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison.
When Brand was charged in April 2025, New College initially postponed his appearance, citing logistical issues. The administration subsequently emphasized that the conversation remained important, describing the controversy surrounding Brand as a distraction from the event’s deeper purpose. Officials even expressed hope that he would eventually appear on campus.
That decision is particularly awkward given the administration’s emphasis on restoring virtue in higher education. Former dean of students David Rancourt, now the college’s vice president of advancement, argued in a 2023 essay that universities had replaced traditional standards of virtue with political correctness and virtue-signaling.
So how did Brand fit into that vision?
The college’s answer has been less than illuminating. Asked by Sarasota Magazine whether inviting Brand aligned with its stated mission, a spokesperson said the Socratic Stage welcomes controversial speakers from all walks of life and called New College the country’s most pro-free-speech campus.
Meanwhile, the school’s new academic reputation continues to face scrutiny. New College dropped from No. 76 among national liberal arts colleges in 2023 to No. 150 in the 2027 U.S. News rankings, according to an independent alumni organization.
Before the conservative takeover, New College had considerably more to brag about. In the 2019 U.S. News & World Report rankings, it placed No. 5 among the nation’s top public liberal arts colleges and No. 90 overall among national liberal arts colleges. It ranked No. 84 overall in the 2021 edition. Since DeSantis’ overhaul began in 2023, however, the school has steadily fallen, dropping from No. 76 that year to No. 150 in the 2027 rankings.
New College may have moved on from Russell Brand. But the questions surrounding the institution’s transformation aren’t going away.
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