Top New College administrator leaving for Florida Poly

New College of Florida vice provost Bradley Thiessen stepped down from his role earlier this week to become interim vice president and provost at Florida Polytechnic University.

Thiessen served in key administrative roles at New College during a tumultuous transition after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six trustees to the school with a mandate to reorient the school towards classical conservative values.

After firing then-president Patricial Okker, the board appointed Thiessen, Okker’s chief of staff, as interim president. When the board hired Richard Corcoran to take the role, Theissen served as interim provost, charged with overseeing the school’s academic administration.

Thiessen worked at New College for six years prior to the takeover and was one of the last holdovers from the prior administration to hold a senior leadership position, as staff left or were fired by the school.

Thiessen remained popular with both faculty and students during the takeover, buoyed by a reputation for competence and dedication to the school, former trustee and New College professor Matthew Lepinski wrote in a text to the Tampa Bay Times.

“He had a reputation for candor,” Lepinski said. “He would never hesitate to tell people when he thought they were making a mistake.”

Thiessen, who did not respond to multiple calls and emails from the Times, often spoke bluntly about the school’s struggles. In July 2023, Thiessen made headlines after stating in a public meeting that a “ridiculously high” number of faulty had departed the school.

However, he was largely silent on campus culture issues that rocked the school. Thiessen did not respond to requests for comment after trustees voted to eliminate the women and gender studies program and close the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion office.

In April 2023, Corcoran urged trustees to defer tenure to five faculty members, overriding Theissen’s prior recommendation.

In February, Thiessen was demoted to vice provost to make way for longtime political lobbyist David Rancourt, who had no prior experience in academic administration.

Thiessen’s first day at Florida Polytechnic was July 8, according to spokesperson Lydia Guzman.

Ian Hodgson is an education data reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, working in partnership with Open Campus.