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Grassroots movement to stop New College’s takeover of Ringling Museum gains strength

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Published  April 2, 2025 10:55pm EDT
Sarasota
FOX 13 News

Possible takeover of Ringling Museum

FOX 13’s Jennifer Kveglis reports on a grassroots effort to stop New College of Florida from taking over Sarasota’s Ringling Museum from FSU.

The Brief

    • The New College of Florida is set to take control of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota from FSU.
    • A grassroots effort has bubbled up to stop the management change.
    • Organizers say New College lacks the infrastructure to manage the museum.

SARASOTA, Fla. - A grassroots effort is working to stop the transfer of the management of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota from FSU to New College of Florida. 

The Ringling Museum in Sarasota.

According to Governor Ron DeSantis's 2025-2026 fiscal year budget proposal, by Aug. 1, Florida's smallest public university, with nearly 800 students, would be set to take over the Ringling Museum.

Nancy Parrish was a board member for the museum for nine years. She called the Ringling the crown jewel of the arts community in Tampa Bay. 

What they're saying:

"It includes a beautiful 66-acre campus grounds that have incredible gardens. It has the art museum, John and Mable Ringling's historic home, the Ca D'zan; it has the circus museum," said Parrish. 

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For 25 years, FSU has managed the museum. Parrish said that through their partnership, the museum has become one of the top six museums in the country for visitor experience, attracting more than 400,000 visitors annually. 

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The Ringling Museum in Sarasota.

"The FSU-Ringling partnership is a case study in institutional cooperation leading to this cost-efficient, operational excellence," said Parrish.

Parrish said that a few weeks ago, she learned about the management transfer proposal. 

"All of the sudden, here comes New College, who's in its own transition. It has precarious financial instability," Parrish said. "They're going to gift the museum and its collections and grounds to New College?"

Dig deeper:

Parrish believes New College does not have the infrastructure to care for the museum. 

Nancy Parrish at The Ringling Museum in Sarasota.

"FSU and the Ringling are so inextricably connected. The infrastructure, the IT, security, the human resources, advancements, ticket sales," Parrish said. "Now they propose that New College is going to handle all of those things? That's absurd."

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Parrish said the proposal is likely based on financial interest. 

"New College needs to find its own solution out of its financially unstable situation. The museum should not be penalized," Parrish explained.

Big picture view:

Parrish, other former board members, trustees and donors have come together to form the Citizens to Protect The Ringling group to demand transparency from legislators. 

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Citizens to Protect The Ringling's website.

"What's up with this? It's a backroom deal; it disrespects the Gulf Coast community tremendously," Parrish said.

FOX 13 contacted DeSantis’s office and The Ringling Museum to confirm whether the proposal is moving forward. Neither has responded.

The Source: FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis collected the information in this story.

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