who left retirement to join the charter faculty.
The school offered a liberal arts education valuing freedom of inquiry, where individual students were responsible for their own education, implemented through a unique academic program.
By 1972, more than 500 students studied at New College. As the 1970s progressed, inflation threatened to undermine the economic viability of the institution. By 1975, the college was $3.9 million in debt and on the brink of insolvency. At that time, the University of South Florida (USF) expressed interest in buying the land and facilities of the college to establish a branch campus there. The school merged with USF as a separate "upper division campus" within the public university.
In the agreement, the New College board of trustees agreed to hand over the school's campus and other assets to the state, at the time valued at $8.5 million, in exchange for the state paying off its debts and agreeing to continue to operate the school as a separate unit within the USF system. The agreement …
