“We have not changed, if you noticed, our core values on our website,” stated John Nicklow, President of Florida Institute of Technology, in a secretly recorded board meeting provided to O’Keefe Media Group by a source. In the recording, Nicklow speaks candidly with faculty and administrators about the need to modify language in public-facing documents and course catalogs to avoid becoming a target for state and federal defunding efforts. “We are going to do what we do, let’s not unnecessarily put a target on our back,” Nicklow furthered.

Nicklow described direct pressure from Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration, revealing, “These people are just looking for words, okay?” referencing how language about “gender expression” on a Title IX page drew attention from Gov. Desantis.

“If it then hits NSF [National Science Foundation], we lose millions of dollars,” he warned staff and educators, noting that the legislation extends to the university’s ability to secure federally funded research grants. “We are seeing specific projects being pulled… because they had the words in executive summary of ‘climate change.’” His recommendation: “If you word it as surveillance and defense, it will probably get funded.”

Nicklow didn’t hold back in his assessment of driving political efforts, stating, “They are not smart people,” adding, “They are simply searching, whatever comes back on [the] web, searching without understanding.”

Despite the warnings, Nicklow maintained support for educators, “You’re not going to get fired for teaching those [DEI] courses,” assuring faculty that the university’s General Counsel would back them if issues arose.

Nicklow recalled conversations with legislators, claiming, “They didn’t know that overhead keeps the lights on.” “I had frank conversations with our congressmen, and they had no idea,” he said.

When questioned about how to navigate the changing environment, he concluded: “Well, you don’t get to pick and choose which parts of diversity community you support and which you don't. My advice is, be mindful of words.”

OMG has reached out to Florida Tech, Ron DeSantis, and the White House regarding President Nicklow’s comments.