Santa Ono rejected for University of Florida presidency amid conservative backlash
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Longtime academic Santa Ono was rejected Tuesday for the University of Florida presidency by the state university system board amid sharp criticism from political conservatives about his past support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and other initiatives they view as unacceptable liberal ideology.
The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state's universities, voted 10-6 against Ono, who was most recently president of the University of Michigan. The University of Florida Board of Trustees had voted unanimously in May to approve Ono as the school's 14th president, and it is unprecedented for the governors to reverse such an action.
Ono's proposed contract included a number of ideological requirements, such as how well he stopped programs that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. He was to cooperate with Gov. Ron DeSantis' Office of Government Efficiency — similar to the office created by President Donald Trump — and appoint other university officials and deans who are 'firmly aligned' with Florida's approach.
Several prominent conservatives raised questions about Ono before the vote over pro-Palestinian protests, climate change efforts, gender ideology and DEI programs at the University of Michigan and his previous academic positions.
These actions, Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said on the X social platform, show 'he is willing to appease and prioritize far-left activists over ensuring students are protected and receive a quality education.' Others raising objections include Donald Trump Jr. and Florida GOP U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds, Greg Steube and Jimmy Patronis. Donalds is a Republican candidate for governor.
Writing in Inside Higher Ed, Ono said he supported DEI initiatives at first because they aim was 'equal opportunity and fairness for every student.'
'But over time, I saw how DEI became something else — more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student success,' Ono wrote, adding that he eventually limited DEI offices at Michigan. 'I believe in Florida's vision for higher education.'
DeSantis, a Republican who has pushed reforms in higher education to eliminate what he calls 'woke' policies such as DEI, did not take a public stand on Ono but did say at a recent news conference that some of his statements made the governor 'cringe.'
Ono faced similar pointed questions at Tuesday's meeting — especially from former Republican state House speakers Paul Renner and Jose Oliva — leading board member Charles Lydecker to object to the procedure.
'We have never used this as a forum to interrogate. This is not a court of law. Candidly, this process does not seem fair to me,' Lydecker said.
Oliva, however, questioned how to square Ono's many past statements about hot-button cultural issues with his more conservative stance now that he sought the Florida job.
'Now we are told to believe you are now abandoning an entire ideological architecture,' Oliva said. 'We are asking someone to lead our flagship university. I don't understand how it becomes unfair.'
Ono was to replace Kent Fuchs, who became the school's temporary, interim president last summer after ex-U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse stepped down. Sasse left the U.S. Senate, where he had represented Nebraska, to become the university's president in 2023.
Sasse announced in July he was leaving the job after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Later reports surfaced that Sasse gave six former staffers and two former Republican officials jobs with salaries that outstripped comparable positions and spent over $1.3 million on private catering for lavish dinners, football tailgates and extravagant social functions in his first year on the job.
Ono is also former president of the University of British Columbia and the University of Cincinnati.
i.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
7 minutes ago
- Fox News
Cuomo attacked during debate by fellow Dems for allegedly lying to Congress about COVID nursing home scandal
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was blasted by fellow Democrats running against him to be the next mayor of New York City for lying to Congress, an allegation pushed by Republicans that the Trump administration is currently investigating. Cuomo repeatedly dismissed questions throughout Wednesday night's debate on whether he lied to Congress about his role in drafting a New York State Department of Health report that officials determined had undercounted the number of nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Cuomo blasted the current investigation as a symptom of partisan politics and insisted the report in question "did not undercount the deaths." "The people died and he still won't answer your questions," Cuomo's opponent, Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman from the Bronx, said after Cuomo failed to provide a straight answer. Blake's retort resulted in one of the debate moderators asking Cuomo once again to respond to the allegations that he lied to Congress about his role in drafting the report that undercounted the number of COVID-19 nursing home deaths. This time, he engaged. "No, I told Congress the truth," Cuomo relented. "No, we did not undercount any deaths," he added. "When they are all counted, we're number 38 out of 50, which I think, shows that compared to what other states went through, we had it first and worst, and that only 12 states had a lower rate of death – we should really be thanking the women and men who worked on those things." "It's just a yes or no question," the moderator shot back at Cuomo. "Were you involved in the producing of that report?" However, Cuomo still did not address the question directly, leading to laughter from his opponents. "It's not only that Andrew Cuomo lied to Congress – which is perjury – he also lied to the grieving families whose loved ones he sent in to those nursing homes to protect his $5 million book deal," said Brad Lander, New York City's comptroller. "That's corruption." Last month, the Trump administration's Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation to get to the bottom of whether Cuomo lied to Congress about the decisions he made during the COVID-19 pandemic while serving as governor. In March 2020, Cuomo issued a directive that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. The directive was meant to free up beds for overwhelmed hospitals, but more than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were ultimately released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was later rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks. Subsequently, a report released in March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found Cuomo's Health Department "was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes" and it "understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%" during some points of the pandemic. New York Attorney General Letitia James similarly released a report amid the pandemic showing New York state nursing home deaths had been undercounted.
New York Times
8 minutes ago
- New York Times
On a Search for an Old E.V., Jay Leno's Car Obsession Came Up Clutch
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. As an energy reporter on the Business desk of The New York Times, I often cover the transition to electrify the world around us, including automobiles and heating and cooling systems. But until I spoke with the historian at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, I did not know that electric cars rattled down city streets as far back as the mid-1890s. A century ago, roughly a third of taxi drivers in New York City shuttled passengers around in electric cars. I set out to write an article about these cars, and a time before lawmakers gave deference to the oil industry by offering numerous tax breaks, paving the way for gasoline-powered vehicles. But finding an original E.V. that I could ride in proved difficult. Most of them sit in museums and personal collections. Enter the comedian — and car collector — Jay Leno. My editor suggested I reach out to Mr. Leno after learning about his 1909 Baker Electric, housed in his famous garage. Mr. Leno's team gave an enthusiastic 'Yes' in reply. When I arrived at his warehouse garage in Burbank, Calif., in April, Mr. Leno had his Baker Electric charged and ready to hit the streets. The 116-year-old car, which had been refurbished, looked like it had just rolled off the showroom floor. Still, the wooden high-top body, 36-inch rubber wheels and Victorian-style upholstery whispered the car's age. It was basically a carriage with batteries, enabling drivers to free horses from their bits and harnesses. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
8 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump's Travel Ban Could Shake Up International Sporting Events
The proclamation President Trump's signed this week banning travel to the United States by people from a dozen countries makes an exception for athletes, coaches and support staff for 'major sporting events,' including the World Cup and the Olympics. What qualifies as a major sporting event remains to be seen. Mr. Trump's proclamation declaring the ban, issued on Wednesday, says that the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will determine which events can receive an exemption. A host of international sporting events are planned in the United States over the next months and years. While some of the countries on the ban list, like Chad and Yemen, are not traditional sporting powers, others, like Iran and Haiti, could well expect to send athletes to the United States for a range of competitions. Mr. Trump also imposed a lower level of restrictions on seven other countries, including Cuba, a strong player on the international sporting stage, and Venezuela. Decisions will have to be made quickly. The CONCACAF Gold Cup, the men's soccer championship for North American, Central American and Caribbean nations, begins June 14 and will be played at sites across the United States (and one in Canada). Haiti has qualified for the competition and is scheduled to play games in San Diego, Houston and Arlington, Texas. The Club World Cup, the world championship for men's club soccer teams, also begins June 14 in several U.S. cities. No team based in a country on the banned list has qualified, but the teams involved include players and staff members from all over the world. CONCACAF, which runs the Gold Cup, and FIFA, which runs the Club World Cup, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Other events coming to the United States this year — including the under-19 softball World Cup and the world skateboarding championships — are less likely to be considered 'major' events. There are also big races, like the Chicago and New York marathons in the fall. Mr. Rubio may find himself facing a lot of judgment calls. The implications for college athletics, where rosters in many sports are dotted with international students, are also unclear. Both events that are explicitly exempted from the ban — the men's soccer World Cup and the Summer Olympics — are coming to the United States after this year. The World Cup is scheduled for 2026, and Iran has already qualified. (Hosting duties will be shared with Canada and Mexico.) Los Angeles will host the Summer Olympics in 2028.
