DeSantis demanded post-tenure reviews for professors. Some lost their jobs.

Professors at the University of South Florida and the rest of the State University System face post-tenure reviews amid conservative efforts to remake higher education in Florida. The first set of reviews results in about 10% of faculty statewide receiving warnings to improve. When Florida lawmakers mandated post-tenure review for state university professors, many educators said the move marked the end of intellectual freedom on the 13 campuses. Proponents of the idea, by contrast, said they wanted to get rid of the “dead weight” cost of unproductive faculty, in an effort to remake higher education. Results from the first year under the new paradigm are in.

And they show that 91% of professors met the newest expectations, while the remainder were given a year to turn their performance around. Ten educators were dismissed outright. “These audits show that the system is working as designed,” said Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis. More in higher ed **UF spending:** Newly released records show former University of Florida president Ben Sasse spent [$1.

3 million on catering](https://www. tampabay. com/news/education/2024/09/12/ex-uf-president-ben-sasse-spending-catering-included-38610-sushi-bar/) for dinners and other events, more than double the amount of his predecessor, Fresh Take Florida reports. **USF:** President Rhea Law spelled out more specific details of plans to [develop the school’s defunct golf course](https://www. wusf.

org/university-beat/2024-09-13/rhea-law-plans-the-claw-no-development-usf-forest-preserve) into housing, shopping and more, WUSF reports. **University of Tampa:** The school is changing its nickname [from UT to UTampa](https://www. wusf. org/education/2024-09-12/university-of-tampa-changes-nickname-utampa) as officials aim to boost its brand, WUSF reports. **FAMU Pharmacy:** The dean of Florida A&M’s pharmacy school [stepped down](https://www.

tallahassee. com/story/news/local/famu-news/2024/09/13/famu-college-of-pharmacy-dean-resigns-amid-low-passing-rates/75190255007/) as the program struggles with poor student passing rates in licensure exams, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. K-12 hot topics **Book challenges:** The Nassau County school district reached a settlement with a group that sued over the removal of several library books. The deal will have the district [return 36 titles to the shelves](https://www. tampabay.

com/news/education/2024/09/12/tango-makes-three-authors-score-legal-victory-florida-book-ban-case/). • The Escambia County school district has [spent more than $100,000](https://www. tcpalm. com/story/news/politics/2024/09/13/florida-school-board-pays-banned-book-same-sex-penguins/75189757007/) in legal expenses to keep “And Tango Makes Three” — one of the books being returned in Nassau — out of its libraries, the USA Today Florida Network reports.