DeSantis' UWF Trustee appointee Adam Kissel axed by Senate Committee

• Kissel was questioned over his documented stances on the privatization of public universities and the GI Bill
• Florida Board of Governors appointees Rebecca Matthews, Rachel Moya and Ashley Ross were confirmed
• It is unclear what is next for Kissel as it appears DeSantis can reappoint him to the UWF board if he chooses

(This story has been updated to report DeSantis appointee Adam Kissel will still move on to the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee for possible confirmation.)

In a blow to Gov. Ron DeSantis, his University of West Florida Board of Trustees appointee Adam Kissel was not confirmed by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education on Wednesday.

Florida Board of Governors appointees Rebecca Matthews, Rachel Moya and Ashley Ross were confirmed, however and will now move on to another confirmation hearing before the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee.

Sen. Don Gaetz on Friday said Kissel will also go before the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee and if approved, will go for a vote in front of the full Senate.

It is unclear what is next for Kissel as it appears DeSantis can reappoint him to the UWF board if he chooses. All trustees must ultimately be confirmed by both the Higher Education and Ethics and Elections committees as well as the full Senate, but a loophole allows appointees to serve until they get a hearing, effectively giving them the opportunity to sit on the trustees board in the meantime.

UWF President Emeritus Judy Bense said the outcome was a win for the university and the community, but alluded to the fight not being over.

“As you probably know, regardless of what happens, the governor probably will reappoint them all. Today we can say we won a skirmish with Mr. Kissel,” said Bense who was among several Pensacola-area residents who traveled to Tallahassee for the hearing.

Former UWF trustees Jeanne Godwin and Suzanne Lewis, UWF graduate student Domani Turner-Ward and Chuck Harris also spoke out at the hearing against the appointments.

The most controversial appointee by DeSantis, Scott Yenor, has not yet gone before any committees to face confirmation.

“I think that the others (trustees) regret they voted for Mr. (Scott) Yenor (for board chair) at all. There were concerns. There was no discussion. Wham! Bam! He was the chair,” Bense said, adding Matthews and Moya indicated to her they felt they made a mistake by voting for Yenor without any discussion.

“They said to me they wanted to do a good job, were willing to work hard to be good trustees and become really familiar with UWF and Pensacola,” she said.

Yenor’s appointment has been riddled with controversy. A Boise State University political science professor, he has expressed misogynistic and antisemitic views.

Kissel’s affiliation with the Heritage Foundation, as well as his documented stances on the privatization of public universities and the GI Bill may have been his undoing. Kissel is also a Visiting Fellow on Higher Education Reform for The Heritage Foundation.

Appropriations Committee on Higher Education Chair Sen. Gayle Harrell questioned Kissel about papers he wrote on the privatization of public universities and colleges.

“Actually you have said …the states could save $126 billion per year if they stop subsidizing higher education. What is your thought about that now? This was just a year ago that you wrote this paper,” Harrell said. “Should we, as an appropriations committee, stop funding state universities, the University of West Florida, in particular?”

Kissel said no.

“The piece you are referring to uses as an example a shrinking, troubled, small university in West Virginia. The kind of university that should be considered for privatization is the one in a situation like that,” he said. “I know of no such university in the whole state of Florida that is like that. UWF is growing, the state of Florida is growing. I would say probably more resources, rather than fewer, should be going to a growing university like the University of West Florida.”

Harrell also followed on Kissel’s views on the military and role of the GI Bill.

“I believe you have stated that one of the worst mistakes made was the passage of the GI Bill and the funding of education for people coming out of the military. How does that comport with the institution you’ve been appointed to that sits in one of the largest military areas – there are five installations there?” Harrell said.

Yenor told Harrell that words that she read, were not the words he wrote.

“What I wrote was that universities have a significant overpopulation problem in general. Across the 20th century, we did a fantastic job with access. That comes at a great humanitarian cost. The cost is that we have tens of millions of students in this country with debt, but no degree,” he said. “We have 45 million borrowers. It’s doing a disservice to people to say, ‘You should come to our institution. We don’t think you’re going to graduate but we’ll take your tuition money anyway.’

“Now, I think that veterans have a greater chance of graduating than others. So I think the overpopulation of colleges in general, not just one or two, but across the country is something that Appropriations Committees should look at. I think it was smart to hear that an attention on workforce into the state College System might be where a lot of people are better suited. But my comment about the 1940s doesn’t apply to my thoughts about veterans today, whatsoever.”

Sen. Tracie Davis also questioned Kissel about his views on Project 2025, for which she said the Heritage Foundation has taken credit. Kissel said his name does not appear in the document, but he read one chapter in Project 2025 – the chapter on education – and “agrees with everything in it.”

During public comments, William Mattox, a senior director at James Madison Institute, voiced support for Kissel who he met several years ago at a conference on classical education.

“I found him to be, much as I think you saw him today, very thoughtful, mild mannered, respectful individual who does serious scholarship. …One of the things that impressed me then, and impressed me again today, is his willingness to sometimes challenge conventional thinking into thinking in new directions. I think if we’re looking to comprise the best board possible, individuals like that are a great asset,” Mattox said.

Matthews, Moya and Ross also faced probing questions from Appropriations Committee on Higher Education members.

Sen. Alexis Calatayud asked the appointees their positions on Title IX and its protections.

“The current chair of UWF (Yenor) has said, ‘It is the attempt to expand civil rights laws to include and mandate sexual harassment training both in education and the workplace. It is thought that a hostile work environment or a hostile education environment needs to be controlled by the employer, needs to be stamped out by the employer. We’ve given private enforcement to the employer to build nonhostile work environments,” Calatayud said, quoting Yenor.

“ ‘In the eyes, this subjective perception of the people who are so-called victimized and this has led to massive changes in our curriculum, changes in our training as employees, massive limits of free speech. You’re not allowed to say certain things in your employer or your educational institution.’

“These are comments that I would assume define a vision toward Title IX, and I care deeply about the protection of students on college campuses. What is your opinion on the responsibilities of educational institutions and the board at UWF to fulfill those responsibilities.”

Matthews said she would like to protect the students on campus.

“I don’t necessarily feel comfortable in commenting on the chair’s beliefs. At this point, I do not know him, and I have not met him, to date. My perspective, at least, is that I would certainly want to ensure the students’ rights are protected,” Matthews responded.

Moya also said she supports full compliance with any federal, state and Board of Governors regulations.

Calatayud also mentioned Yenor’s comments about wanting to recruit more men into engineering programs and asked Ross about recruiting women into STEM programs.

“My personal value and belief would be to preserve protections and equal treatment for all employees and students and everyone at the university level and at the community level. I certainly share your values there and would be in complete agreement in the Title IX question,” Ross said.

“In terms of the recruitment question, I am a firm believer in the best and brightest person should be who gets the job. …I think the university is doing a decent job with that. I think we can be doing a lot more. As we continue to grow those programs and some new ones, I really would like to see that being looked at, as the best person for the role, gets it.”

Davis, along with Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, voted against confirming all four appointees – citing concerns from the community as well as their voting to elect Yenor as UWF board chair.

Smith said that Yenor’s appointment and nomination have “become so toxic, that it has become radioactive.” He asked if all the UWF appointees who voted for Yenor were aware of his “radioactive” comments and views that have caused so much controversy.

“Sir, we have had numerous articles in the newspapers and television news sections in the Panhandle for some time, starting in January. If they were not aware, then perhaps they were not reading any local news,” said Godwin, who is one of the founders of Save UWF, a grassroots organization made up of concerned citizens, former students and former UWF Board of Trustees members.

“I have brought with me and I would be happy to share with you a hundred printed pages of signatures on the (Save UWF) petition to defeat these people. I also have a few pages of comments by people who signed the petition.”

Bense also told committee members the trustees’ appointments have had a chilling effect on the community and UWF.

“The trustees for the University of West Florida have always been from the region, a native, a resident or certainly a UWF alum. All the other trustees on the list today to be confirmed are from their own region,” she pointed out.

In one vote, the Appropriations Committee on Higher Education unanimously approved trustee appointments to Florida A& M University, the University of Central Florida, Florida State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University and the University of North Florida.The committee chose to vote on each UWF appointment – individually.

“Ours is the only region that has five trustee nominees from outside the region with no connection to the University of West Florida. That’s an issue,” Bense said, citing UWF’s steady growth over the past 10 to 15 years.

“Our metrics are good. There is nothing wrong. We don’t need to be reconstructed,” Bense said, adding donations to UWF also have come to a “screeching halt” and students are unenrolling for the fall 2025 semester.

“They don’t trust what’s going to happen at the University of West Florida with eight new board of trustee members who all voted for Mr. Yenor to be their chair and by their vote, supported his opinions.”

Turner-Ward said students are concerned about the potential harm the new trustees will do to the university.

“I care deeply about the university and its community, and I want to see them thrive. I’m concerned that under the leadership of the recent appointees, our university will not continue its pattern of excellence,” said Turner-Ward, who also earned a bachelor’s degree from UWF.

Lewis told the senate committee about the responsibilities of board members and the importance of them being a part of the Pensacola community.

“In the course of year, this board will take probably 100-plus actions. Many of those actions will be based on law and policy and regulations, but also many of them are be based on the values of the community and where the university should go,” Lewis said. “So, the ability to do a good job means you have to listen. You have to learn. And you have to watch and participate in the community.”

She said the Pensacola community expects to see UWF trustees around town.

“They expect to see them at athletic events, academic events, most importantly, my favorite day, graduation,” Lewis added.

Harris said none of the appointees should be confirmed.

“I’ve watched my daughter dance ballet on the stage at the (University of) West Florida. It’s a place she thinks is good and safe,” he said. “Whether folks knew or didn’t know, they certainly know now. Chairman Yenor’s statements alone make the University of West Florida a less welcoming place to women and other minorities.”

Harris said the new appointments voting for Yenor as chair, show their judgement is not strong enough for the continued growth and prosperity that UWF brings to the area.

After their confirmations, Sen. Harrell told Matthews, Moya and Ross to listen to the comments from the hearing.

“…Concerning independence as board members. Thinking about the community that is Northwest Florida, I have a lot of family there and we will be watching,” Harrell said.

If confirmed by the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee and approved by the full Senate, Matthews, Moya and Ross will serve staggered terms. Matthews and Ross would serve five-year terms that end Jan. 6, 2030. Moya’s term would end on Jan. 6, 2028.

Gates Garcia was listed on the agenda for confirmation by the Appropriations Committee but was not presented to members.

Yenor’s name has still not been submitted for confirmation. Paul Bailey and Chris Young’s name still appear on the Senate Executive Appointment Listing webpage.