New College denies emerita status to faculty Trustee who opposed Richard Corcoran’s hire

Amy Reid spent three decades in the classroom at New College^[1] outside her two years representing faculty on the Board of Trustees. But her stances on behalf of academia there may have led President Richard Corcoran to deny her “professor emerita” status.

Corcoran on Oct. 6 shot down a recommendation by New College Provost David Rohrbacher to grant Reid the status and any continued relationship with the Sarasota school.

“Although I recognize Professor Reid’s contributions to New College in teaching and scholarship, I cannot concur with the Division and Provost that she be honored with the title of emeritus,” Corcoran wrote in an email.

“When I became president with a mandate for change from the Board of Trustees, there was need for reasoned and respectful exchange between the faculty and administration. Regrettably, Professor Reid was one of the leading voices of hyperbolic alarmism and needless obstruction. In her letter of resignation, Professor Reid wrote that ‘the New College where I once taught no longer exists.’ She need not be burdened by further association with it.”

New College declined further comment beyond Corcoran’s email.

Reid, now a senior manager for PEN America’s Freedom to Learn program, said the decision smacks of censorship and ignores contributions to the school for decades over political disagreements.

“He made it about my speech, and frankly, about my advocacy for the faculty. I was doing my job,” Reid said.

“At the Board of Trustees meetings, I was well prepared. I read the documents, and I raised what I believe were serious questions about policies and budget proposals put forward. It is kind of stunning if my fulfillment of my fiduciary responsibility is his justification for this decision. It is censorship, and my concern is that he has let all the other faculty know that if they speak up, they will be punished one way or another. That is what I don’t think is acceptable.”

Corcoran came on as New College’s President in 2023^[2] immediately after the appointment^[3] of several high-profile conservative Trustees by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Those members immediately fired New College President Patricia Okker and hired Corcoran, DeSantis’ former Education Commissioner, as acting President.

Reid wasn’t on the Board of Trustees then. She came on a few months later, after former faculty representative Matt Lepinski abruptly quit in protest^[4] of several professors being denied tenure and because he was “very concerned about the direction that this board is going.” Reid was elected by faculty to fill his spot.

In that role, she often was a minority vote against administration recommendations, along with student representative Grace Keenan. The two were the only Trustees in October 2023^[5] to vote against naming Corcoran as the school’s permanent President.

Corcoran notably granted emerita status to another retired faculty member, art history professor Malena Carrasco.

“I concur with the judgement of the Division of Humanities and the Provost, and am happy to recognize Professor Carrasco’s years of service to New College and its students with the title Professor Emerita,” he wrote.

Reid also spent most of her tenure at the school as an educator, albeit of a more controversial topic in today’s political environment. She started as French prof the first director of a now-dissolved^[6] gender studies program on campus.

The title is primarily an honorific. Professors emerita may use New College stationary and an email account after their retirement, free parking on campus and access to the university library. They also may continue to sponsor tutorials and theses and to serve on baccalaureate committees. But there is no financial benefit from the recognition.

“The institution benefits by having people who are still engaged in academic life, who will still be connected to the institution,” Reid said. “They can teach a class if they’re in town, or they just respond to questions from students, or be there to help with students’ research projects. It’s a benefit to the person who’s retiring because of its symbolic value, primarily.”

That makes the decision all the more petty, according to Reid.

“The thing that was stunning to me was that in Richard Corcoran’s response, he made it clear that this was retaliation for my advocacy as chair of the faculty,” she said. “He concurred about my contributions as a teacher and a researcher, which is 28 of my 30 years at New College. But (the denial) was because I was a vocal opponent of his ‘mandate,’ and so he made it personal to him.”