Don’t use salary figures to judge New College graduates

Rodrigo Diaz
| Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Recently, the Herald-Tribune published a scathing column by Professor Bruce Gilley that rebuked critics of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hostile takeover of the New College of Florida in January 2023.

Gilley was named a Presidential Scholar in Residence by New College President Richard Corcoran. According to New College, Gilley is among “the leading scholars on democracy, political legitimacy, public policy and world politics” – although he is perhaps best known for his controversial essay “The Case for Colonialism”.

I am an alumnus of New College and critical of its hostile takeover bid. (I’m not a fan of colonialism either.) Which is why I was surprised by Gilley’s statement in his guest column that “the only valid measure of a college’s performance is the return on investment of students higher than forecasts in 5, 10 and 20 years.

Gilley’s comment contrasts with what other hostile takeover advocates have said. For example, in January 2023, two DeSantis appointees to the New College board of trustees – Christopher Rufo and Eddie Speir – distributed a list of the school’s shortcomings.

(Rufo is still a board member; Speir has since left.)

One of New College’s flaws, according to the list, was that the median salary of its graduates was only $32,000 a year after graduation — a figure that placed New College “dead last.” among schools in the Florida State University System.

Every time Corcoran describes New College before January 2023, he also cites similar measures. However, concerns about graduate earnings are not limited to its administration.

On page 3 of its 2024 Accountability Plan, the State University System Board of Governors highlights the median salaries of bachelor’s degree graduates employed full-time one year after graduation. According to the plan, New College was last in the system for four of the five years mentioned – including the most recent year, 2021 to 2022.

That makes Gilley’s assertion all the more interesting: In addition to contradicting public statements by New College officials, he took a stand against the board that governs college education in Florida.

After graduating from New College in 1991, I was exactly the kind of alumnus who would have appalled Corcoran, Rufo, and the Board of Governors. In 1992, I earned just $3,697 (or about $8,225 in today’s dollars) – and my salary in 1993 wasn’t much better.

Why did I earn so little? Was it because I attended a school where “woke ideology and indoctrination” were commonplace? The answer is “yes,” but not in the way Corcoran and others might think.

When I attended New College, the provost was Professor Bob Benedetti, a “woke intellectual” if ever there was one. Benedetti believed that New College should be a place where students explored not only their ideas, but also their own moral sense. And Benedetti would openly declare that his conscience, shaped by his Christian faith, had led him to side with the poor and marginalized in society.

Coming from the school’s highest-ranking official, isn’t it surprising that “woke ideology” is pervasive on campus?

However, the “indoctrination” did not stop there.

I was working in the university library, and when a librarian found out I was interested in social justice issues, she told me about her service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal in the 1960s. One day, I decided to follow in his footsteps and join the Peace Corps.

Shortly after graduating, I began training to become a community education promoter in two small towns in the Dominican Republic.

My “indoctrination” into “woke ideology” – and a few years of low pay – was over.

Florida universities should provide a path to upward mobility. But focusing on short-term revenue metrics misses much of the value of higher education.

Is higher education first and foremost a question of salary?

Or should it be something more?

Rodrigo Díaz is an alumnus of New College. He served in the Peace Corps from 1991 to 1994.