When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed transferring The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art from Florida State University to New College of Florida earlier this year, museum supporters warned the move would scare away donors.
Now, those fears have materialized.
Three donors told Suncoast Searchlight they have either pulled planned gifts from their estates or have reconsidered donations in light of the proposed takeover, even though the measure ultimately failed in this year’s state budget.
Together, those donors represent more than $750,000 in potential lost support, underscoring how deeply even the possibility of a takeover has shaken confidence in the museum’s future.
Donors expressed concern about the small liberal arts school’s ability to operate the museum and manage its finances.
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The planned handoff reflects part of a larger political movement to reshape American cultural and academic institutions — one that found a high-profile flashpoint in Florida with DeSantis’s overhaul of New College.
The small public liberal arts college in Sarasota had long been known for its progressive student body and academic independence. That changed in 2023 when DeSantis installed a slate of political allies to the college’s board of trustees and helped appoint former Republican House Speaker Richard Corcoran as its president.
Since then, New College has dropped its gender studies program, launched an athletics program and initiated a speaker series featuring far-right figures like Tom Homan, Trump’s former “border czar,” and Russell Brand, the comedian whose talk was postponed after he faced rape and sexual assault allegations in the United Kingdom.
At least four other public colleges and universities in Florida are now helmed by GOP-aligned appointees. Meanwhile, in Washington, Trump successfully implemented a similar takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
For many Ringling donors, the threat of a politically-motivated shift at the museum — long managed by FSU — was too much to bear.
“I have enormous respect for what FSU has done with The Ringling and great fears for what would happen if it would be transferred to New College,” said Frances Fergusson, a member of the The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Foundation board of directors.
Fergusson said the possibility of New College taking over the art museum shocked her and prompted her to reconsider her planned art donations in her will. A Ringling Foundation board member, she said she agreed to rejoin the board this year on the condition the museum remains under FSU control.
“The initial proposal to transfer The Ringling to New College gave me great pause about my planned future donations of works of art,” Fergusson said, “and I am currently feeling relieved that that decision has not occurred and will clearly continue to monitor what happens in the future.”
The Ringling declined to comment and FSU did not respond to a request for comment.
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FSU currently manages The Ringling’s more than $50 million endowment, and staffs the museum with more than 220 workers who are responsible for the maintenance, security and curation of the art — a highly specialized process that is supported by FSU’s art department.
FSU and the FSU Foundation also are among The Ringling’s largest donors, each giving $1 million or more during the 2023-2024 fiscal year, according to the museum’s most recent annual report.
After DeSantis included the museum transfer in his 2025-2026 budget request, museum supporters mobilized to oppose the move. Sixteen former members of The Ringling Foundation board signed a letter warning the move could disrupt donor relationships. They raised questions about whether New College, already under scrutiny for its own financial practices, was equipped to manage a major cultural institution.
They also cited concerns about the taxpayer-shouldered cost of a possible New College takeover, risks to the maintenance of The Ringling’s collections and the potential loss of academic programs offered through FSU’s partnership with The Ringling in areas like museum studies and art administration.
Terry Brackett, a retired attorney who has served on the board of the Library Foundation for Sarasota County and other local nonprofits, said she was “appalled” to learn of DeSantis’s push to transfer the museum.
Brackett told Suncoast Searchlight she has already pulled a planned gift of $500,000 to the museum from her will. She said she is now considering adding The Ringling back in her will, but only on the condition that it be cancelled if the museum is transferred to New College.
Nancy Parrish, a founding member of the group Citizens to Protect the Ringling — a grassroots group formed to oppose the proposed transfer — said she planned to bequeath $250,000 worth of artwork to The Ringling in her estate. She amended her will when DeSantis’s budget included the proposed takeover.
“That’s removed from our will, and it won’t be added back,” Parrish said, “until we feel assured that The Ringling will remain an independent institution stewarded by FSU.”
Ira Wiesner, a Sarasota attorney specializing in estate planning and elder law, said it is typical for people to consider questions of “due diligence” as they plan their wills.
“Are the higher-ups getting too much money? Are too much donor funds going to administrative costs?” Wiesner said. “You’ll get people who are very focused on the efficiencies of the management of the organizations they support”
Weisner, who declined to comment about any specific institutions, said that increasingly, donors consider political alignment when contributing to organizations not typically associated with politics.
“If the mission seems to be changing and if it’s not changing consistent with my values,” he said, “I might say, ‘I want to find another organization whose mission is more compatible with mine.’”
This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.
