TALLAHASSEE \u2014 Longtime St. Petersburg legislator Darryl Rouson is being hired by New College of Florida as its presidential scholar and professor of trial litigation, the school announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Rouson will teach courses on trial advocacy and leadership in public life, the Sarasota college said, starting this fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenator Rouson\u2019s distinguished career in the courtroom and the legislature will provide students with an extraordinary opportunity to learn from one of Florida\u2019s most respected legal and public leaders,\u201d New College President Richard Corcoran said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Rouson is leaving office this year<\/a> because of term limits after serving 18 years in the House and Senate. He was head of the St. Petersburg NAACP for five years before that.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve given the public 23 years,\u201d he told the Times\/Herald. \u201cI think I\u2019ve done some good work within my areas of passion, and I\u2019m excited for the next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n Rouson, 70, said he was going to teach two classes each in the fall and spring semesters and an independent study in January. He said he was expecting about $100,000 in total for the work.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still working out the fine details,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Rouson, a former prosecutor and trial lawyer, said leaving the Legislature will allow him more time to practice. He said he joined the Tampa Bay injury law firm Emerson Straw this year. He also plans to finish a book about his addiction and recovery from drugs and alcohol this year, he said.<\/p>\n The New College job came together after he ran into Corcoran at an event<\/a> at the school in November, Rouson said. Corcoran was a Republican House speaker when Rouson, a Democrat, was in the chamber. In 2017, Corcoran appointed him to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission.<\/p>\n