The recent New York Times article about New College is so willing to accept things as face value that I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the reporter bought a timeshare from Corcoran.
While others have noted the innumerable bias and omissions, I want to focus on the many bits that are just factually incorrect, or factually misleading.
Top 7 Falsehoods in the New York Times December 28 New College story.
1: Teaching Homer was new for Professor April Flakne because of the changes
April Flakne strides into the classroom to teach a course on “The Odyssey,” a new requirement at New College of Florida.
She has taught philosophy at the small state college for 25 years, but this class is different — seven weeks on one classic book, required of all students. Normally, her focus is on philosophers like Hannah Arendt and Simone de Beauvoir, and their theories of totalitarianism, revolution and feminism.
This class on Homer is a turnabout from all that…
Flanke teaching class on Homer is “a turnaround” because she is a professor of Modern Philosophy. Flakne previously taught Hannah Adrendt because Flakne wrote her dissertation on Hannah Adrendt.
Spending seven weeks — half a semester — on a work that is typically taught in middle and high schools is a enormous reduction in rigor for New College.
2. Example of ideological conformity
It was “a little Club Med” for people who were “all ideologically the same,” said Richard Corcoran, the school’s new president.
This was firmly refuted by The Atlantic in March 2023, which put it in the headline, “a narrative that does not withstand scrutiny”
Mike Sanderson, the author of this article, was an intern for Sarasota Congresswoman Kathrine Harris as a student in 2004, and spoke in favor of eliminating DEI in February 2023.
3. Founding date and model
“New College was founded in 1960, as a private, progressive school along the same lines as Hampshire College, an experimental school in Massachusetts that has also struggled to stay afloat.”
Hampshire was founded in 1970, ten years after New College. New College was founded by, among others, Jane Bancroft Cook of the Dow Jones Bancrofts. New College was not founded to be “progressive” and its mission never had a political component but was always educational.
4. Enrollment Pre- and Post Takevoer
“Mr. Corcoran said that his detractors have painted an unrealistically rosy portrait of New College before the shake up. Enrollment was flagging.”
(Later)
“The college is growing. There are over 900 students this year, from under 700 in 2022, according to the college. “
False. In Fall 2022, New College had the second-largest freshmen class in history. This was a rebound from poor management in the late 2010s and during the covid-19 pandemic; that president resigned in 2020, with a new president taking office in summer 2021 — and was already posting results by Fall 2022.
There were more freshmen in Fall 2022 than there are in Fall 2025, and the larger freshmen cohort in Fall 2022 had higher average GPSs and SAT scores.
5. The dormitories designed by I.M. Pei were covered in mold.
True, because they still are — even while Corcoran has spend tens of millions on hotel leases to serve as dorms. The money he has spent on hotel leases could have given the State a refurbished dorm of great architectural significance, but instead it has been frittered away for a short-term pop in enrollment.
Citing a problem from the previous administration that Corcoran has no solution for is an odd standard.
6. Anyone would recruit athletes
“His renewal plan consists, to a large degree, of things that any turnaround agent might have done, like recruiting student athletes... ”
7. Economies of scale
“New College officials defend this as largely a one-time investment, to improve infrastructure after years of deferred maintenance. As the school grows to its goal of 1,800 students, they say, there will be economies of scale.” ....
False. The largest single expense is for hotel leases, which will not scale at all. Another multi-million expense are the highly taxpayer-subsidized student scholarships, which also will not scale. There is no evidence the school could support 1,800 students.
These are just the most flagrant falsehoods, in a story full of omissions and credulousness. This is an ignomous moment for the Times, and one that people in Florida and across the country will need to come back to.
