Florida's DOGE agency asks university faculty to hand over research

Ian Hodgson, Tampa Bay Times on Apr 10, 2025

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TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office has asked colleges and universities across Florida to hand over detailed information on grants received by faculty and research over the last six years.

Colleges this week began the process of asking professors for the information, which would be supplied for Florida’s newly formed cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, initiative.

“Unfortunately, we do not have any additional insights beyond what was stated in Gov. DeSantis’s executive order forming the Florida DOGE,” Nathaniel Southerland, the vice president of academic affairs at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, wrote in an email to faculty Wednesday. “I remain confident that the information we supply will demonstrate that Santa Fe College is a good steward of taxpayers’ dollars.”

Schools must turn over the list of published papers by Friday, April 18, according to the letter.

“There is a huge cost associated with this. Immense resources that could be going elsewhere,” said University of South Florida engineering professor David Simmons, who serves as president of the school’s faculty senate.

“Faculty research is already available publicly available on databases like Google Scholar,” he said. “Right now, we don’t know why this has been requested.”

DeSantis told state university leaders last month that the review was part of his offices effort find inefficiencies and make the public higher education system a “well-oiled machine.”

He added that his team will be rooting out non-compliance with state laws over diversity, equity and inclusion programs.