There’s a growing chorus of concern over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointment of Scott Yenor as a member of the University of West Florida Board of Trustees and his selection as chairman. The latest opposition has come from the Jewish Caucus of the Florida Legislature, which released a statement Tuesday demanding DeSantis reconsider the appointment.
“Among other offensive public statements, recently on his personal X account, Yenor implied that only non-Jewish white men are viable political leaders,” read the statement in reference to comments posted last month.
Yenor, a political science professor at Boise State University affiliated with the conservative Claremont Institute, has also drawn opposition over his 2021 speech at the National Conservatism Conference when he referred to women as “medicated,” “meddlesome,” and “quarrelsome” and said they should not be recruited into engineering. ‘Ditto for med school and the law and every trade,” Yenor stated.
“His history of anti-Semitic and misogynistic rhetoric is not only deeply offensive, but also incompatible with the principles and leadership and integrity that should define Florida’s higher education system,” continued the statement from the Jewish Caucus.
The document was signed by sixteen state lawmakers, including District 1 Representative Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, and state Sen. Randy Fine, R-Brevard, reportedly the only Jewish Republican in the state legislature.
Both shared the statement on their social media accounts. This follows Sen. Fine’s expression of concern about Yenor’s appointment in a Monday morning post on X.
“I am very troubled by @GovRonDeSantis’s appointment of @scottyenor to the Board of Trustees of @UWF, and worse, his election as chair of that Board of Trustees," said Fine on X.
This morning, the bipartisan Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus called on @GovRonDeSantis to reconsider the appointment of @UWF Board Chair @scottyenor over his stunning antisemitic commentary. Antisemites have no place in Florida’s universities, let alone as its leaders. pic.twitter.com/7PjT8JHVeZ
— Senator Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) February 11, 2025
"Just last month, Mr. Yenor publicly questioned whether Jews elected to the United States
Senate could be qualified for “national leadership.” He must still be confirmed by the Florida Senate and I will be sharing my concerns with my colleagues. There is no place for antisemitism in our Universities, let alone in their leadership."
Fine, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 6 th Congressional District, will have some say during the Florida Legislative session, which begins March 4. He plans to keep his job in the state senate until Mar. 31, when he must resign.
As chair of the Florida Senate Ethics and Election Committee, Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, will have a direct role in the confirmation of the UWF trustees. While Gaetz has not publically opposed Yenor’s appointment, he is encouraging citizens to let their opinions be known, when confirmation process gets underway. The United Faculty of Florida, a union the represents more than 25,000 faculty members in all 12 Florida universities, has also called for senators to vote "no" on Yenor and Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow of The Heritage Foundation.
Last week, a few hundred students from UWF held a protest on the Pensacola campus to let their thoughts be known. Led by the student group, Students for Socialism, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), students stated their opposition to Yenor and seven other the recent appointments to the BOT and called on Gov. DeSentis to halt his “far-right takeover” of the university.
