State Board of Governors Impressed with New College of Florida's Improvements

New College of Florida is not only creating better links between the liberal-arts educations students receive and their future careers, but the college also is doing so enthusiastically, thanks to college president Donal O’Shea, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida Board of Governors said.

As a result, the board, which governs the state’s public universities, unanimously approved returning 50 percent of New College’s base funding that had been withheld until the college met its Performance Improvement Plans goals.

“I think it is not just a matter of doing it, but this has become a campaign or initiative that is more than filling in the boxes, but filling it in with changes and building on it with a very strong spirit that they have in the campus,” Chancellor Marshall Criser said Thursday.

New College received back $540,188 of the $1,080,377 — $645,594 of its base funds and $434,783 of its performance funds — that had been withheld.

“We are very pleased and satisfied that they restored the funding to the college,” New College of Florida spokesman David Gulliver said. “We are hopeful that the other $540,000 will be restored. It is very important to us. While we can’t predict what board of governors will do, it seems we are in sync with them and are making good on the promises we made to achieve on what they want.”