The recent election of Scott Yenor as chairman of the University of West Florida’s Board of Trustees has sparked discussions about potential changes to the institution’s educational approach.
Heath Druzin, creator and host of the podcast Extremely American, has extensively covered conservative education and National Christian movements in Idaho. For my podcast, he outlined Yenor’s controversial background as a Boise State University professor, who gained national attention for his statements regarding women in higher education, including his view that universities should not encourage women to pursue careers in the sciences.
- Bryan Griffin, spokesperson for Governor Ron DeSantis, indicated that Yenor’s appointment aligns with the governor’s mandate to implement classical education principles at Florida’s universities. This move follows similar educational reforms at New College of Florida, which underwent changes in 2023 as part of an initiative to reshape it into a model similar to Hillsdale College.
Yenor’s connection to the Society for American Civic Renewal (SACR) has drawn the attention of The Guardian, Talking Points Memo and other national media. However, the attorney for the Claremont Institute informed us that Yenor is not co-founder of SACR.
SCAR advocates for what Druzin describes as a “far-right utopian ideal” that promotes traditional gender roles and patriarchal social structures.
Yenor has been quoted describing career-oriented women as “more medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome than women need to be.”
The push for classical education at UWF connects to a broader movement significantly influenced by Doug Wilson, a religious leader based in Moscow, Idaho. Wilson has built what journalist James Dawson termed a “Christian industrial complex,” centered around his Christ Church congregation and extending nationally through various institutions.
Wilson’s Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) has over 500 Christian schools, according to its media kit. Through its Certified College program, ACCS is affiliated with four colleges: New Saint Andrews College (started by Wilson in Moscow, ID), New College Franklin (Franklin, TN), and Bethlehem College & Seminary (Minneapolis, MN).
Wilson has reshaped the definition of classical education itself. According to Druzin, “He’s started to define classical education as this sort of fundamentalist Christian education with no room for other viewpoints.”
- “The woman who literally wrote the book on classical education is like, ‘no, no, no, no. That’s not what we are,'” Druzin noted. “Classical education is not what he says it is. But he’s kind of been winning that war of ideas.”
Wilson’s influence extends beyond education through the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, which began in 1998 as the Confederation of Reformed Evangelicals. The founding churches were Wilson’s Community Evangelical Fellowship in Moscow,; Eastside Evangelical Fellowship (Trinity Church) in Bellevue, Washington; and Wenatchee Evangelical Fellowship in Wenatchee, Washington. Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, reportedly attends a church that is a member of the Confederation of Reformed Evangelicals.
In his hometown of Moscow, Idaho, Wilson’s organization has acquired approximately 20% of downtown property, demonstrating his strategy of building influence through institutional presence. Wilson says he is in a
“cold war civil war” that seeks to turn Moscow into a “Christian town.” See YouTube video.
IMPACT IN PENSACOLA
The University of West Florida, with its 14,700 students, has met all state performance metrics for graduation, retention, and graduate salaries, serving as a significant economic driver for the region. The potential shift in educational philosophy under Yenor’s leadership raises questions about the future direction of the institution.
Druzin noted that targeting smaller educational institutions for ideological transformation has become a common strategy among conservative activists.
“They find winnable battles first and hone their skills there. Take over these small places and then a little bit bigger and then a little bit bigger,” he explained. “These guys, far-right activists, Christian nationalists, they have the will to do it. They are determined, and they are patient.”
The changes at UWF follow a pattern seen at other institutions like North Idaho College and Florida’s New College, where similar ideological shifts have been implemented.
- “In Florida, you’re seeing even if Ron DeSantis might not personally be consulting Doug Wilson, which I don’t think he is, I do think Wilson’s ideas have sort of percolated down through these schools and through his efforts,” Druzin explained. “What you guys do in education over there is going to matter greatly.”
This development marks a significant moment for Florida’s third most populous state and its approach to higher education, particularly as DeSantis’s administration embraces classical education principles more actively than other conservative states.
- As Druzin noted, “It’s fascinating that Yenor is coming there with this charge of promoting classical education because that is definitely, that’s got Doug Wilson’s fingerprints all over it.”
As UWF faces this transition, questions remain about how Yenor’s leadership might affect the university’s existing programs, metrics, and role as a regional economic engine.
DOUG WILSON
Rachel Miller, news editor for the Aquila Report, has challenged Doug Wilson, his Classical Christian Education curriculum and his views on her blog.
Miller points out that Wilson is “self-ordained, has never been to seminary, founded his own denomination, publishing house, university, seminary, and classical school curriculum. He is the head of his denomination.”
In 1996, Doug Wilson published a pamphlet, Southern Slavery as It Was, with Steve Wilkins, a former board member of the League of the South, a Southern nationalist organization:
From the pamphlet:
“Slavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity. Because of its dominantly patriarchal character, it was a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence. There has never been a multi-racial society which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony in the history of the world. The credit for this must go to the predominance of Christianity.”
“Slave life was to them a life of plenty, of simple pleasures, of food, clothes, and good medical care.”
Wilson’s views on marriage:
“The first time the dishes are not done, he must sit down with his wife immediately, and gently remind her that this is something which has to be done. At no time may he lose his temper, badger her, call her names, etc. He must constantly remember and confess that she is not the problem; he is. By bringing this gently to her attention, he is not to be primarily pointing to her need to repent; rather, he is exhibiting the fruit of his repentance. He does this, without rancour and without an accusative spirit, until she complies or rebels.”
On women who disagree with him:
“Unbelieving women either compete for the attention of men through outlandish messages that communicate some variation of “easy lay,” or in the grip of resentment, they give up the endeavor entirely, which is how we get lumberjack dykes. ‘On Why Christian Women are Prettier‘
The silly women here are perpetual students — bluestockings — and they are constantly learning but never getting the point. It would be hard to come up with a better modern example of this than the evangelical feminists.”