This is a quick note for readers in Florida’s West Coast. The budget fight between the Florida legislature and the governor again puts the Sarasota-Manatee campus of the University of South Florida at risk. This is a political raid about real estate, and it threatens an accredited state university that has been serving South Florida for half a century. In jeopardy are feeder systems for nurses to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Blake Hospital, scholarships for Sarasota and Manatee County students from Title 1 households, and local business and finance students who graduate with Bloomberg terminal certificates. There’s a lot more at stake: This political raid will remove 42 accredited university disciplines currently available locally. For a more in-depth discussion of what is at stake, see my February 27, 2026, post on this subject:
“Help Save an Accredited University from a Political Attack” | Kotok Report,
https://kotokreport.com/help-save-an-accredited-university-from-a-political-attack/.)
The replacement will be New College, which is not accredited and bears no resemblance to the earlier New College that produced Fulbright scholarship-level graduates. Now, New College’s biggest claim to fame is its success in beach volleyball competition.
I have nothing against volleyball. But I do think nurses in the local hospital are at least equally important. If you agree, please contact your local Florida legislator at once.
By way of disclosure, my personal philanthropy includes the USF nursing school, USF Foundation scholarship program for Sarasota and Manatee Counties’ students, and the Bloomberg Terminal Laboratory on the second floor of the USFSM building. 100s of students have benefited over the years. All this stops if the New College political raid succeeds. It’s a real estate raid that will emasculate the local community education system. Please help.
The website linked below explains how and provides legislators’ contact information. Note that I am one of the signatories of this website’s call to action:
“Save USF Sarasota-Manatee,”
https://www.saveusfsm.org/
Thank you.
Further Reading
“Business leaders say closing USF Sarasota-Manatee would hurt local economy” | WUSF,
https://www.wusf.org/university-beat/2026-05-08/business-leaders-closing-usf-sarasota-manatee-would-hurt-local-economy“Carlos Beruff doesn’t ‘get’ USF Sarasota-Manatee” | Bradenton Journal,
https://open.substack.com/pub/thebradentonjournal/p/carlos-beruff-doesnt-get-usf-sarasota?r=1hfyu&utm_medium=ios“The Fate of University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee Will Be Decided Soon | Sarasota Magazine,
https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/news-and-profiles/2026/05/the-fate-of-university-of-south-florida-sarasota-manatee-will-be-decided-soon“USF Sarasota-Manatee must be saved, supported” | Herald-Tribune,
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/opinion/columns/guest/2026/05/16/usf-sarasota-new-college/90052188007/Facebook reel from SAVEUSFSM.ORG:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/2439992769788090
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