Santa Ono, the sole finalist to become the University of Florida’s next president, was blocked from assuming the position by the state’s top higher education board.
The Florida Board of Governors rejected a motion to ratify Ono’s contract with UF in a 10-6 vote Tuesday after holding a tense hearing with him that day that lasted nearly four hours.
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The results were significant as it marked the first time the governing body had ever voted down a university trustee board’s leadership selection. The unprecedented rejection came after Ono’s candidacy sparked a national backlash from Republicans, including from Donald Trump Jr., over concerns he would bring “woke” policies to the state’s flagship university.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Ono, the former president of the University of Michigan, was grilled by the board over concerns regarding his viewpoints and policies on a host of controversial issues during his time leading the northern institution. Those policies included his support for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the debate of race-based versus merit-based admissions, how he handled encampments of pro-Palestinian protestors on the UoM campus, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his views on “gender-affirming care.”
While Ono said he had “evolved” on those issues since his time at UoM and pledged that contentious DEI programs would “not have a place at the University of Florida,” his arguments were not enough to win over conservatives on the board.
When pressed by BOG member Paul Renner on past statements he had made in favor of race-based admissions and on DEI, Ono said multiple times he “couldn’t recall when he made the statements or reverted to comments he had made previously,” according to the Gainesville Sun.
However, not all the board members were on board with how the hearing went down.
BOG member Charles Lydecker expressed solidarity with Ono, arguing that the presidential finalist was treated unfairly.
“This is not a court of law,” he said. “I’ve been on this board 5-6 years and we have never used this as a forum to interrogate, and to me, in this case, it feels patently unfair…We’re interrogating somebody who hasn’t had a chance to review the materials in advance. …Candidly, this process does not feel fair to me.”
The decision blocking Ono came a week after UF’s Board of Trustees had unanimously approved Ono as its president-elect.
UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini, a top ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), was a firm supporter of Ono and slammed opposition to his candidacy from conservatives. He agreed that Ono had evolved on critical issues, arguing that his ability to adopt new perspectives over time was an indicator of healthy critical thinking.
“Recently, a handful of external voices have sought to question Dr. Ono’s alignment with Florida’s vision for higher education. Dr. Ono is not shifting his views to fit Florida. He has been evolving his perspective over time — before UF ever approached him about this role,” Hosseini wrote in an email sent out to UF faculty, staff, and students on May 22. “Like any other good scientist, Dr. Ono adopted new perspectives as he gained new information. Dr. Ono chose to come to Florida because of his strong belief that our values and vision for higher education aren’t only right—they should set the example for what American public universities should aspire to.”
DeSantis never publicly indicated his position on the matter, saying he would leave Ono’s confirmation to the BOG. However, he said during a news conference on May 29 that some of Ono’s past statements made him “cringe,” and the governor has appointed most of the board members.
Ono’s failure to ascend to the powerful position follows public campaigns from a host of influential conservative political figures against his candidacy, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), Reps. Byron Donalds (R-FL), and Greg Steube (R-Bradenton).
“Great news for my alma mater and the state of Florida!” Steube said Tuesday after the BOG voted down Ono. Steube continued to thank Scott, Donalds, and others for pressing the BOG to reject Ono.
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On Friday, Donalds called on UF to “restart the search process.”
“Too much has come out about Mr. Ono,” the congressman said, “I don’t know the man, but I will tell you, if he actually ends up becoming the president of the University of Florida, and I step in as the state’s next governor, we are going to be observing him very, very closely,”