New College of Florida President Richard Corcoran said “everyone’s on board again” for a takeover of USF’s Sarasota-Manatee campus.
Corcoran’s comment during an Aug. 27 New College Board of Trustees meeting followed discussions that USF Sarasota-Manatee could help ease New College’s housing shortages.
As of spring 2025, 74 New College students were living at USF Sarasota Manatee’s Atala Hall, which houses a maximum of 200 students.
Corcoran said he believes that if the Florida legislature had finalized the merger last legislative season, control of USF Sarasota-Manatee would have been transferred to New College.
And while Corcoran has brought up the topic once again, USF has rejected the idea of ongoing talks. The school pointed to a new $6.5 million STEM facility on the Sarasota-Manatee campus as “evidence” of its commitment, according to WUSF.
Still, Corcoran’s latest comment has reignited the debate among professors from both schools who thought the subject had been settled.
Related: USF community seeks answers after USFSM, New College merger drafts surface
For more than two decades, the two campuses — though less than a mile apart — have served distinct purposes in the region’s higher education system.
USF is a major research university and has nationally recognized health programs, while New College has positioned itself as a small liberal arts honors college known for individualized learning and close faculty-student mentorship, according to respective institutional webpages.
But these contrasting missions have left some faculty feeling uncertain about what a potential merger would look like in practice.
Nova Myhill, a New College professor in the humanities department, said the school’s administration “never” communicated to faculty in “any substantive way” about the merger.
“No one knows what it would really mean or how it would be handled,” Myhill said.
And though residence hall constraints are often brought up during merger discussions at New College, Myhill said it would be “a huge loss” to the Sarasota-Manatee community to lose either institution.
Related: OPINION: USF Sarasota-Manatee should not merge with New College of Florida. Here’s why
But other New College professors think differently.
Douglas Estes, an associate professor of religion at New College, said he and other faculty see a potential merger as a way to expand the college’s reach.
Estes said New College faculty are “overwhelmingly” proud of the college, its students and the opportunity to be educational leaders.
“Faculty generally support pursuing USF [Sarasota-Manatee] and other strategic partnerships as a means to make the No. 1 Public Liberal Arts College in the U.S. even better,” Estes said.
Meanwhile, professors on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus have a more cautious approach to the merger.
Michael A. Gillespie, an associate professor of psychology at USF Sarasota-Manatee, said that while the merger has some “obvious appeal,” the administration has lacked communication.
“This idea has the transparency of a cigar-smoke-filled, closed-door, back-room conversation,” Gillespie said. “If I was trying to orchestrate a merger while creating the most resentment possible, this is how I would handle it.”
Related: USF students, faculty want clarity on potential New College merger
Valerie Lipscomb, a professor of English at USF Sarasota-Manatee, said she “strongly” opposes any move to give New College control over any part of USF.
“Our local students in Sarasota-Manatee deserve in-person access to a top-tier, high-research, comprehensive university,” Lipscomb said.
The uncertainty of this merger has left both campuses weighing their futures, but Myhill says it is important to consider what students stand to lose if either institution is diminished.
“I would encourage legislators to recognize the benefits that both institutions offer, and the importance of maintaining consistent access to both liberal arts and pre-professional education in our community,” Myhill said.
