Prominent political aide named director of New College Foundation

Sydney Gruters, who has been a top aide for two Sarasota congressmen for more than a decade, has been named executive director and vice president of advancement for the New College of Florida Foundation. 

Gruters, who is married to State Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, comes to the position at New College during a time of transition for the school, known as Florida’s honors college. The crux of the changes stem from early January, when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six new board members for the public college. The board later named a new interim president, former Florida Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran, who was Florida education commissioner under DeSantis. Gruters starts her new position April 3.

"I'm thrilled to be working for such a prestigious institution under the leadership of President Corcoran," Gruters says in a statement. "The opportunity to continue to serve the community I love was simply too good to pass up. I look forward to ensuring that New College of Florida will have the tools and resources necessary to thrive in the months and years ahead."

The New College Foundation had assets of $57.81 million through 2021, according to its annual report. The foundation, its website states, “raises the necessary private funding that enables New College to provide an outstanding liberal arts and sciences education to high-achieving undergraduates from Florida and elsewhere. Through outright gifts, pledges and deferred giving, the New College Foundation raises critical funds for scholarships, faculty positions, academic programs, new buildings, student and faculty research and travel and endowments, with more than $100 million in public and private funds raised since 1980.” 

Gruters had most recently been district director for U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, a position she held since he was elected in 2018. For more than 10 years before that, she worked in both Washington. D.C. and Sarasota for U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key. In addition, Gruters, a native Floridian and University of Florida graduate, was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017 to serve in his administration as the state director for Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands within the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. 

“We are very excited to be able to attract professionals like Sydney Gruters to the New College of Florida Foundation,” Corcoran says in the release. “Sydney’s deep roots in the area, as well as her reach across the state and the nation, will help propel the foundation to greatness. Sydney will immediately begin building up the fundraising operation for the foundation, focusing on those who have supported the college in the past and recruiting new donors who support our mission and vision for the future. We are ready for Sydney to join the organization and welcome her to our growing and dedicated team of talented professionals.”