No Topic Too Controversial for Debate at Florida Polytechnic, Says New Trustee

LAKELAND, FLORIDA — As one of its newest trustees, constitutional attorney Ilya Shapiro wants to help Florida Polytechnic University become the MIT of the South – free from the indoctrination of postmodern critical theory. 

A resident of Falls Church, Virginia, and Director of Constitutional Studies at the New York-based Manhattan Institute, Shapiro has testified before Congress and filed more than 500 amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court. But as busy as his schedule is, Shapiro said he was elated to learn that Governor Ron DeSantis considered him for the role of trustee at Florida Poly. 

“I’m delighted to be able to step into a trustee role at a promising institution where I can work with a cohort of people from differing backgrounds to help the school get better,” Shapiro told The Florida Standard.

Along with his colleague Chris Rufo at the Manhattan Institute, Shapiro has proposed model legislation to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) structures in universities that work against the fundamental mission of higher education. Shapiro pointed out that DeSantis signed the legislation in Florida and other states are also considering it.

OPEN INQUIRY, ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND CIVIL DISCOURSE

When asked if he has a specific agenda in mind as he assumes the trustee role, Shapiro said he’s getting oriented with the school but wants to ensure that students have a solid foundation for learning.

“I certainly want to promote the basic foundational principles of open inquiry, academic freedom and civil discourse at Florida Polytechnic – as we should have at any educational institution,” Shapiro said.

“But I would not want to shut down discussion topics no matter how controversial they are,” Shapiro noted. “It’s good to have people of different backgrounds – not engaging in group thinking – discussing different perspectives.”

PROMOTING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH

While Florida Poly is a distinctly different university than New College, where DeSantis appointed Chis Rufo, Shapiro says all of Florida’s public universities must work to prevent the indoctrination of liberal ideologies that inherently divide students rather than bring them together.

“The movement against DEI is to promote the freedom of speech – it’s to prevent indoctrination of illiberal ideologies that view people through racial or gender or other identity lenses and divide people up into artificial oppressor, oppressed classes through postmodern critical theory,” Shapiro told The Florida Standard.

“MIT OF THE SOUTH”

Florida Poly is a leading institution of change, engineered from the ground up to push the boundaries of education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). As the board begins a search for a new university president, Shapiro says he’s looking forward to helping advance the notion that the innovative technical school can become the MIT of the South.

“I look forward to digging into all of that, and I certainly want all students who desire to study STEM at an elite level to feel welcome at Florida Poly,” Shapiro added.

Shapiro will be in Florida on November 15, where he will join the four other DeSantis appointees for their first official board meeting led by Chairman Cliff Otto, who DeSantis reappointed.