In a rare and highly publicized reversal, the Florida Board of Governors on Tuesday rejected the appointment of Santa Ono as the next president of the University of Florida, despite his unanimous endorsement from the university’s trustees just a week earlier.
The 10-6 vote followed a tense meeting in Tallahassee, where several members raised concerns over Ono’s past support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, his criticism of President Donald Trump, and his handling of pro-Palestinian protests at the University of Michigan.
Ono, a respected academic leader with previous presidencies at Michigan and the University of British Columbia, had sought to reassure conservative critics by distancing himself from DEI efforts and emphasizing his record on campus safety. In a May op-ed for Inside Higher Ed, he wrote, “Over time, I saw how DEI became something else–more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student success,” and noted that he had eliminated DEI offices at Michigan.
Despite those statements, some board members remained unconvinced. “The public record completely contradicted what the nominee was telling us,” said Paul Renner, a Republican and former speaker of the Florida House, according to The New York Times.
Ono’s previous involvement in a 2018 letter signed by hundreds of university presidents denouncing the Trump administration’s interference in academia also drew scrutiny. Though his name was quietly removed from the letter last month, critics viewed the move as opportunistic.
Republican lawmakers in the state, including Senator Rick Scott, were vocal in their opposition. In a post on X, Scott called Ono “the wrong choice” to lead a university he described as the “gold standard” in combating antisemitism. “He is willing to appease and prioritize far-left activists over ensuring students are protected and receive a quality education,” Scott wrote.
Supporters of Ono argued the decision was more about politics than qualifications. UF board chair Mori Hosseini defended the nominee, saying, “Dr. Ono would have ensured that merit and scholarship, not ideology, are the gold standards for success.”
The rejection underscores the growing ideological battle over higher education in Florida, where Gov. DeSantis has made combating “woke” policies on campus a key part of his agenda. For Ono, it marks a significant and public setback—and a sign that, for some institutions, political alignment may now outweigh academic leadership.
