Another Florida college taps a former state lawmaker to be its next president

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Republican former state lawmaker in northwest Florida who has never worked in academia is poised to become the latest in a string of conservative politicians taking the helm of public colleges and universities in the state.

The board of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville announced this week that Mel Ponder is its pick to be the school’s next president.

For years, Florida politicians have vied for top jobs at the state’s universities, touting their connections to lawmakers who could boost state funding for the campuses. The trend has accelerated under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has done more than any other governor in recent memory to reshape the state’s educational landscape to conform to his conservative ideals.

Ponder is a realtor, former state representative and current member of the Okaloosa County Commission. He touts strong community ties in a stretch of the state known for its white sand beaches, bustling tourist economy and vast military bases. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University and has never had a job in higher education, according to his resume.

In his time in the state Legislature, Ponder was vice chair of the higher education appropriations subcommittee and was named Legislator of the Year by the Association of Florida Colleges in 2018. He has also served as mayor of the city of Destin. His term on the Okaloosa County Commission ends Nov. 19, and the Northwest Florida State College Board is scheduled to finalize his appointment the same day.

Ponder beat three other finalists for the job, including a former community college president and a college administrator, both with doctoral degrees, as well as a retired Air Force brigadier general.

“I am confident in his ability to lead our College into the next stage of its growth,” college board Chair Lori Kelley said of Ponder, who she said “brings deep experience and passion for our community to this critical role."

Ponder's lack of a terminal degree makes him an outlier among college presidents across the country. A 2023 survey by the American Council on Education found that just 0.6% of college presidents hold only a bachelor's degree, while 83% have a doctorate.

Ponder and the college did not respond to emailed requests for comment from The Associated Press.

United Faculty of Florida, a union that represents college professors in the state, declined to comment specifically on Ponder’s appointment, but said that in general, effective college leadership requires “substantial educational experience”.

“While diverse backgrounds can offer valuable perspectives, prioritizing leaders without academic expertise risks treating these institutions like corporations and undermining their mission,” UFF President Teresa Hodge said. “The ultimate consequence is a decline in educational quality, impacting students who depend on these institutions for comprehensive preparation for their future.”

Lauren Lassabe Shepherd, an instructor at the University of New Orleans School of Education and author of the book “Resistance from the Right: Conservatives and the Campus Wars," said the appointment appears to be part of a national trend of conservatives angling to expand their influence over education.

“He’s just very clearly unqualified," Shepherd said. “And if I were an employee at the institution, I would be worried about the direction that my college is headed in, especially in the context of everything else that’s happened in Florida.”

Among the other Republican lawmakers to lead public colleges and universities since DeSantis' election is former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, who has since resigned as president of the University of Florida and is being scrutinized for extravagant spending during his time leading the school.

DeSantis ally and former Speaker of the Florida House Richard Corcoran was tapped to oversee the conservative makeover of the New College of Florida. Two other Florida lawmakers have also been named the presidents of state colleges, neither of whom came from jobs in academia.

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Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.