UF Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education gets $5.5M gift from Ken Griffin

Citadel CEO and billionaire Ken Griffin is giving $5.5 million to fund scholarships and graduate fellowships at the University of Florida’s Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education.

UF leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the donation at a press conference in Gainesville as they highlighted investments into the new school.

UF is renovating the infirmary to house the Hamilton school that’s set to be finished in 2027, with classes starting the Spring of 2028, officials said.

According to the school’s website, the classes could help prepare students for jobs in government, public policy, finance, consulting, nonprofits and other areas.

Mori Hosseini, UF’s Board Chair and a close DeSantis ally, called the new school a “bold investment in higher education.”

“Civic engagement is key to what the Hamilton School is all about. At the Hamilton School, we are teaching our students to be responsible American citizens and leaders,” Hosseini said.

DeSantis has touted his support for UF’s Hamilton school as he continues to reshape higher education in his war against liberals. His critics say DeSantis’ efforts have been costly as some point to the state’s takeover of New College of Florida where its leader, former House Speaker Richard Corcoran, is paid more than $1 million a year to lead a school of less than 900 students, as one example of dubious deals. 

At the press conference Wednesday, DeSantis defended his vision for higher education as he complained about the “missteps of modern academia” for “turning your back on the core pillars of Western civilization, the foundational principles that made the United States what it’s been.”

“It’s almost as if the core classical learning and studying citizenship and studying the foundations in many places just become a lost art,” DeSantis said as he called UF’s Hamilton a “premiere place” for such learning.

UF interim President Donald Landry said the university has hired 48 faculty members in three years for Hamilton’s growth.

“Tradition is not the worship of ashes; it is the preservation of fire,” Landry said. “And the fire burns bright at the Hamilton School for Classical and Civics Education at the University of Florida.”