TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Florida Gov. has appointed to the board overseeing the University of West Florida in Pensacola, including two people affiliated with the conservative think tank behind .
The appointments to the public university in Florida's western panhandle come two years after DeSantis tapped to oversee , in what critics say was a hostile of the small progressive school.
The new appointees to UWF's board include Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow on higher education reform for , which proposed Project 2025 as a for a hard-right turn in American government and society. Kissel served in the U.S. Department of Education under President Donald Trump.
DeSantis also appointed Scott Yenor, a political science professor at Boise State University who previously was a visiting fellow on American political thought at The Heritage Project.
The other nominees are Paul Bailey, an adjunct professor in the pre-law program at Pensacola Christian College; Gates Garcia, president of the private equity firm Pinehill Capital Partners; and Chris Young, founder of the personal injury law firm Perry & Young.
The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate, where Republicans hold a supermajority. In 2023, senators declined to confirm one of DeSantis' most controversial New College nominees, but approved the others.
DeSantis built his national profile by leveraging in Florida鈥檚 classrooms, , rooting out and limiting what Florida schools can teach about racism.
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Kate Payne, The Associated Press
