Latest news with #DEI2.0
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Absolute embarrassment': Florida's GOP-led education board torpedoes UF president search
In a landmark moment for Florida higher education, the state university system's Board of Governors on Tuesday blocked Santa J. Ono's appointment as the next president of the University of Florida amid furious conservative backlash. The 10–6 vote capped a fiery and deeply political process, marking the first time the board had overturned a university's choice for its top job. The decision not only leaves UF without a permanent leader, but could potentially have far-reaching consequences for the future of higher education across the state. By rejecting a candidate who most recently led one of the nation's top research institutions, the board signaled that traditional scholars are no longer welcome as academic leaders in Florida. Ono, a molecular immunologist who just finished a two-and-a-half year stint leading the University of Michigan, had been unanimously backed by the UF Board of Trustees last Tuesday. Had the Board of Governors voted yes, the three-time college president would have entered a five-year contract valued up to $15.4 million plus benefits. Ono, having already stepped down from Michigan, is now left without a position. His appointment would have marked a symbolic win for UF, which has long aimed to match the University of Michigan in national rankings. Michigan currently holds the No. 3 slot in the U.S. News & World Report's public university rankings; UF ranks No. 7. UF board chair Mori Hosseini has been in a 'laserfocused' quest to boost UF's standing in national rankings. A major Republican donor and ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Hosseini praised Ono on Wednesday as a leader who has 'seen first hand how liberal orthodoxy that dominates many elite universities is failure, breeding division, eroding public trust and compromising academic rigor.' But Ono had been met with a lukewarm response from DeSantis and bitter opposition from other prominent Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds. From the moment UF announced Ono as the sole finalist for the $3 million-a-year job on May 4, conservatives pounced on his former support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives while at Michigan, including a high-profile 'DEI 2.0' campaign and the expansion of one of the nation's most extensive DEI offices. Although Ono disbanded those programs in March, since describing his views as having 'evolved,' prominent conservatives widely met the reversal with skepticism rather than forgiveness. Christopher Rufo — a Washington-State based conservative activist and key architect of DeSantis' anti-DEI crusade — helped orchestrate a public pressure campaign, celebrating Ono's defeat as a victory in the ideological war for the soul of higher education. 'We conducted an investigation, generated a strong media narrative, and made the case that Ono was a captured left-wing ideologue who would jeopardize Florida's reputation as the place 'where woke goes to die,'' Rufo wrote on X after the vote. Tuesday's proceedings more closely resembled a political interrogation along the lines of a Capitol Hill confirmation hearing than a routine board vote. The board — which is stacked with DeSantis appointees — probed Ono's old tweets and statements and pressed him on what some saw as a less-than-swift response to antisemitism and pro-Palestinian encampments on Michigan's campus. There was scant discussion of Ono's academic vision for UF. 'It's an absolute embarrassment,' Amanda Phalin, a UF business professor who previously served on the Board of Governors, told reporters after the meeting. 'The political questions that were being asked portends more politics in the process and less focus on academics.' Board member Paul Renner — a recent DeSantis appointee and former Florida House Speaker — confronted Ono with a binder of news clippings and past statements and demanded he clarify the timeline of his evolving stance on DEI, pointing to comments that appeared to support those programs long after the school eliminated them. Ono, clearly caught off-guard, struggled to recall or contextualize each item in the stack. 'My name is on a lot of things at institutions that I didn't write,' he said at one point, adding that some statements were written by committees or task forces. Despite the mounting pressure, Ono remained steadfast in his desire to lead UF. In his public statements and before the Board of Governors, he aligned himself closely with DeSantis' vision for higher education, repeatedly affirming his support for the state's dismantling of DEI programs and other academic reforms. 'I support fully, the decision to end DEI,' Ono told the board. 'I'm here to ensure DEI never returns to the University of Florida. Science will lead — not ideology.' Not everyone on the board agreed with the hostile tone of the proceedings. Charles Lydecker, who has served on the Board of Governors since 2019 and was also part of UF's search committee, raised concerns that governors were questioning Ono about years-old statements and hadn't been given a chance to review materials beforehand. 'We have never used this as a forum to interrogate,' Lydecker said. 'Are we a court of law here? Oor are we a body intending on ratifying the vote already taken at the University of Florida? This process doesn't feel fair to me.' Chairman Brian Lamb, who ultimately voted in favor of Ono, also expressed concerns. 'We are the Board of Governors; we are not at the Supreme Court,' Lamb told board members. Tensions also flared when Renner was confronted with revelations that he had previously expressed interest in the UF presidency. Mori Hosseini, the UF board chairman, disclosed that Renner had contacted him about the position before his appointment to the Board of Governors. Renner confirmed a conversation had taken place but denied actively pursuing the role. Meanwhile, UF trustees, faculty leaders and donors passionately defended Ono. Kent Fuchs, UF's interim president and a former president himself, called Ono 'an accessible person, a person who leads with warmth, who leads with courage.' Fred Ridley, another UF trustee, implored the board to 'look past all the noise' and give Ono a fair shot. Even the terms of Ono's contract seemed tailored to calm critics. The $15.4 million deal included strict assurances that no university funds would be used for DEI initiatives and that Ono would hire only administrators aligned with 'Florida's approach to higher education.' As the final vote was tallied, audible gasps could be heard in the audience. Hosseini, visibly frustrated, whisked Ono away through a side door, escorted by police. When approached by reporters, Hosseini declined to take questions. Ono didn't look back. Back inside the conference room, Board of Governors Vice Chair Alan Levine, who voted against Ono and intensely scrutinized his political positions for nearly an hour during the meeting, offered a handshake to UF trustee Patrick Zalupski. Zalupski turned him down. 'You f—ed up, man,' Zalupski said. With UF now forced to restart its search for a new president — a costly, monthslong process — the stakes remain high. The university is still reeling from the brief-yet-turbulent tenure of Ben Sasse, who abruptly resigned in July only to be flagged later by state auditors for questionable spending. Sasse, a former U.S. Senator from Nebraska, was widely seen as a political pick ill-suited to run one of the nation's top research institutions. Interim president Fuchs' contract expires July 31, and while it may be extended, the university's leadership vacuum could disrupt strategic initiatives, fundraising, and academic momentum. Bernie Machen, who led UF from 2004 to late 2014, told the Miami Herald late Tuesday that university leadership is in a state of 'total confusion.' 'I think we're in a deep hole right now,' Machen said. 'Nobody has a clue about what's going to happen.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ono nixed as UF presidential finalist due to conflicting DEI stances
University of Florida President Santa Ono takes questions from trustees before they unanimously approved him as the school's president-elect on May 27, 2025. He was rejected by the state Board of Governors on June 3, 2025. (Photo courtesy of University of Florida) In a stunning move, the panel that oversees Florida's state university system voted against hiring Santa Ono as the next president for the University of Florida during an extended special meeting Tuesday. The State University System Board of Governors voted against Ono in a 6-10 vote that followed hours of contentious questioning and debate where Ono was grilled over his past positions on diversity equity and inclusion. The vote comes a week after UF trustees approved Ono, the immediate past-president of the University of Michigan and sole finalist for the job, which would have paid him a $3 million annual package that included $1.5 million base salary After conducting a months-long search, UF remains without a permanent president. Former UF President Kent Fuchs has been serving as interim president since former President Ben Sasse resigned last year. Approving Ono was the only item discussed during the board meeting, which ran nearly two hours longer than originally scheduled. Some members compared the vetting to a court interrogation. Members mainly asked about Ono's changing stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how he could carry out Florida's agenda denouncing DEI, but delved into other topics, like a Christian's interpretation of original sin and Gov. Ron DeSantis' COVID-19 response. 'It's insidious that it feels like pushing a rope uphill when we establish these policies, if a president doesn't really believe in those policies,' Board of Governors Vice Chair Alan Levine said during the meeting in Orlando. 'And it's a powerful position, you can be an inhibitor, or you can help advance. And so I guess so much of your record reflects your deeply held beliefs, that you have been an advocate of DEI up until recently.' Ono supported diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the University of Michigan, one of the top-ranked public institutions in the country, guiding its 'DEI 2.0' initiative and touting benefits of such programs but ultimately closed DEI offices earlier this year. 'It looks to me like you got rid of the program because you needed to do what you had to do with the president's orders and the funding issues. But you didn't really push to get rid of DEI,' Levine said. Ono replied with an answer he uttered several times, that he began looking at DEI when he took office at Michigan, rather than an immediate decision after Trump's executive order. Ono told UF trustees last week that he developed his new stance on DEI in the last year and a half after talking with students and other members of the university community. Before, he wasn't an expert on the topic, which had been universal in higher education, he said, and told trustees his conviction is 'rock solid.' Ono said he mirrors Florida's evolution with accepting, and then rejecting, DEI. 'For anyone who believes Dr. Ono's earlier views on DEI, views that many university leaders and civic organizations once shared, are disqualifying despite his evolution and the changes made under his leadership at Michigan, I would remind you that this body adopted DEI strategic priorities as recently as 2020. Like Michigan, the Board of Governors has evolved since,' BOG member Charles Lydecker said, adding that Ono's previous positions on the topics governors were concerned about 'are not meaningfully different from those previously held by this board.' 'The real question is this: Should we punish someone for evolving beyond a view this very body once held, especially when that person has already led one of the nation's most prominent universities to a different course, a course that mirrors our own?' Lydecker said. Lydecker added that 'There is something fundamentally unjust about cancel culture, and to cancel Dr. Ono would not only be unjust, it would be a setback for the University of Florida.' The degree of vetting from governors Tuesday was not typical, and is the first time the Board of Governors has rejected a president, the Orlando Sentinel reported. 'I've been on this board for five, six years, and we have never used this as a forum to interrogate. And in this case, it feels to me patently unfair,' Lydecker said after former House Speaker and now-BOG member Paul Renner put documents in front of Ono about his past. At one point, BOG member Eric Silagy asked if any of the governors had expressed interest in the UF presidency. Mori Hosseini, the chair of the UF Board of Trustees, said yes. He acknowledged Renner reached out to him asking about the job. Renner insisted that he reached out to to Hosseini before he was on the BOG. Renner said he would not take the UF job if offered now that he's on the BOG. Renner did not recuse himself, although, and voted against Ono. Ono told the BOG he had made 12 commitments, which include ideological neutrality, solely merit-based hiring and admissions, keeping the university aligned with state government, and upholding state laws and university regulations. He said he asked for those provisions to be included in his contract. 'Doctor, your recent reversal on an entire architecture of ideology is nothing short of incredible,' BOG member and former House Speaker Jose Oliva said. Oliva also voted against Ono. Hosseini, stood by Ono's candidacy, and sat next to him during the 'interrogation.' 'The bottom line is that Dr. Ono is globally recognized as one of the most respected leaders in higher education, and we are lucky to have him,' Hosseini said. Ono was previously president of the University of British Columbia and the University of Cincinnati. The GOP pushback mounted high enough to reject Ono, who had already stepped down as Michigan's president. U.S. Rep. and GOP gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds posted to X questions related to DEI that he encouraged BOG members to ask, and Rick Scott did the same, Monday evening releasing a statement and questions concerning Ono's commitment to protecting Jewish students. After the vote, Scott called the vote 'the right decision,' and U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis said 'I'm happy to see the system work.' Donald Trump Jr. posted to X 'WTF! Have the decision makers at @UF lost their minds!???' calling on BOG members to vote against Ono. U.S. Rep. Greg Steube sent a letter to BOG members, asking them to reject Ono, 'and find a suitable replacement who truly represents Florida values.' After the UF trustees' meeting last week, Steube said 'I'm not sold' on Ono 'walking back his woke past.' The governor's office appoints six of 13 of the university trustees at each institution and 14 of the 17 BOG members. 'The Board of Governors has a strong history of affirming presidential nominees who received unanimous approval from their university boards to continue this practice sends a message that the Board of Governors values the opinion of their colleagues with the state university system and does not yield to outsiders who post out of context sound bites on social media,' Hosseini said. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Back to the drawing board: UF presidential finalist nixed for conflicting DEI stances
University of Florida President Santa Ono takes questions from trustees before they unanimously approved him as the school's president-elect on May 27, 2025. He was rejected by the state Board of Governors on June 3, 2025. (Photo courtesy of University of Florida) In a stunning move, the panel that oversees Florida's state university system voted against hiring Santa Ono as the next president for the University of Florida during an extended special meeting Tuesday. The State University System Board of Governors voted against Ono in a 6-10 vote that followed hours of contentious questioning and debate where Ono was grilled over his past positions on diversity equity and inclusion. The vote comes a week after UF trustees approved Ono, the immediate past-president of the University of Michigan and sole finalist for the job, which would have paid him a $3 million annual package that included $1.5 million base salary After conducting a months-long search, UF remains without a permanent president. Former UF President Kent Fuchs has been serving as interim president since former President Ben Sasse resigned last year. Approving Ono was the only item discussed during the board meeting, which ran nearly two hours longer than originally scheduled. Some members compared the vetting to a court interrogation. Members mainly asked about Ono's changing stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how he could carry out Florida's agenda denouncing DEI, but delved into other topics, like a Christian's interpretation of original sin and Gov. Ron DeSantis' COVID-19 response. 'It's insidious that it feels like pushing a rope uphill when we establish these policies, if a president doesn't really believe in those policies,' Board of Governors Vice Chair Alan Levine said during the meeting in Orlando. 'And it's a powerful position, you can be an inhibitor, or you can help advance. And so I guess so much of your record reflects your deeply held beliefs, that you have been an advocate of DEI up until recently.' Ono supported diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the University of Michigan, one of the top-ranked public institutions in the country, guiding its 'DEI 2.0' initiative and touting benefits of such programs but ultimately closed DEI offices earlier this year. 'It looks to me like you got rid of the program because you needed to do what you had to do with the president's orders and the funding issues. But you didn't really push to get rid of DEI,' Levine said. Ono replied with an answer he uttered several times, that he began looking at DEI when he took office at Michigan, rather than an immediate decision after Trump's executive order. Ono told UF trustees last week that he developed his new stance on DEI in the last year and a half after talking with students and other members of the university community. Before, he wasn't an expert on the topic, which had been universal in higher education, he said, and told trustees his conviction is 'rock solid.' Ono said he mirrors Florida's evolution with accepting, and then rejecting, DEI. 'For anyone who believes Dr. Ono's earlier views on DEI, views that many university leaders and civic organizations once shared, are disqualifying despite his evolution and the changes made under his leadership at Michigan, I would remind you that this body adopted DEI strategic priorities as recently as 2020. Like Michigan, the Board of Governors has evolved since,' BOG member Charles Lydecker said, adding that Ono's previous positions on the topics governors were concerned about 'are not meaningfully different from those previously held by this board.' 'The real question is this: Should we punish someone for evolving beyond a view this very body once held, especially when that person has already led one of the nation's most prominent universities to a different course, a course that mirrors our own?' Lydecker said. Lydecker added that 'There is something fundamentally unjust about cancel culture, and to cancel Dr. Ono would not only be unjust, it would be a setback for the University of Florida.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The degree of vetting from governors Tuesday was not typical, and is the first time the Board of Governors has rejected a president, the Orlando Sentinel reported. 'I've been on this board for five, six years, and we have never used this as a forum to interrogate. And in this case, it feels to me patently unfair,' Lydecker said after former House Speaker and now-BOG member Paul Renner put documents in front of Ono about his past. At one point, BOG member Eric Silagy asked if any of the governors had expressed interest in the UF presidency. Mori Hosseini, the chair of the UF Board of Trustees, said yes. He acknowledged Renner reached out to him asking about the job. Renner insisted that he reached out to to Hosseini before he was on the BOG. Renner said he would not take the UF job if offered now that he's on the BOG. Renner did not recuse himself, although, and voted against Ono. Ono told the BOG he had made 12 commitments, which include ideological neutrality, solely merit-based hiring and admissions, keeping the university aligned with state government, and upholding state laws and university regulations. He said he asked for those provisions to be included in his contract. 'Doctor, your recent reversal on an entire architecture of ideology is nothing short of incredible,' BOG member and former House Speaker Jose Oliva said. Oliva also voted against Ono. Hosseini, stood by Ono's candidacy, and sat next to him during the 'interrogation.' 'The bottom line is that Dr. Ono is globally recognized as one of the most respected leaders in higher education, and we are lucky to have him,' Hosseini said. Ono was previously president of the University of British Columbia and the University of Cincinnati. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The GOP pushback mounted high enough to reject Ono, who had already stepped down as Michigan's president. U.S. Rep. and GOP gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds posted to X questions related to DEI that he encouraged BOG members to ask, and Rick Scott did the same, Monday evening releasing a statement and questions concerning Ono's commitment to protecting Jewish students. After the vote, Scott called the vote 'the right decision,' and U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis said 'I'm happy to see the system work.' Donald Trump Jr. posted to X 'WTF! Have the decision makers at @UF lost their minds!???' calling on BOG members to vote against Ono. U.S. Rep. Greg Steube sent a letter to BOG members, asking them to reject Ono, 'and find a suitable replacement who truly represents Florida values.' After the UF trustees' meeting last week, Steube said 'I'm not sold' on Ono 'walking back his woke past.' The governor's office appoints six of 13 of the university trustees at each institution and 14 of the 17 BOG members. 'The Board of Governors has a strong history of affirming presidential nominees who received unanimous approval from their university boards to continue this practice sends a message that the Board of Governors values the opinion of their colleagues with the state university system and does not yield to outsiders who post out of context sound bites on social media,' Hosseini said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Florida leaders hail vote to block Ono from UF: ‘The right decision'
The board that governs Florida's higher education system delivered a stunning rebuke to the state's flagship college on Tuesday, blocking Santa Ono from becoming the next president of the University of Florida. Citing concerns over Ono's past statements on diversity, equity, antisemitism and other cultural issues, the board cast aside the former University of Michigan president by a 10-6 vote, with one member absent. Some state leaders and education figures who had called for the Board of Governors to block Ono applauded the vote on social media. 'This is the right decision for @UF,' Sen. Rick Scott posted on X, a day after raising significant concerns about Ono's candidacy. 'UF's students, faculty, and staff deserve a president who will stand for Florida values and against antisemitism.' Christopher Rufo, a prominent conservative voice on education and a trustee at New College of Florida, saluted the board's 'act of courage,' and pledged 'NO AMNESTY FOR THE ARCHITECTS OF THE DEI REVOLUTION.' 'There needs to be a real shakeup at the University of Florida board of trustees, which voted unanimously in favor of a man who promoted gender pronouns, land acknowledgements, two-spirit insanity, DEI 2.0, critical race theory, and child sex-change procedures,' Rufo wrote. U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis called the often contentious Board of Governors meeting 'incredibly difficult,' but said it was necessary. 'Today's vote was tough, but I'm happy to see the system work,' he posted. 'I trust @UF will bring back the best and brightest to lead the University of Florida.' Former U.S. Rep. Byron Daniels, who is running to become Florida's next governor, was another politician who spoke out against Ono. 'I give credit to the Florida Board of Governors for standing up for Florida's conservative values,' he wrote. 'Woke has NO place in our university system. It's time to restart the presidential search at @UF and find a more qualified candidate to lead our flagship university forward.' And state Rep. Brad Yeager, R-New Port Richey, said the Board of Governors 'fixed a big mistake and stopped wokeness from leading one of our top Universities!' On the other end of the spectrum, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a UF alumnus, said the university will have its work cut out for it in attracting top candidates following Tuesday's decision. 'Today's vote begs the question: what top tier academic leader will subject themselves to the far-right fanatics running Tallahassee?' she said in a statement. 'UF is vying to be the nation's top public research university. Installing right-wing, unqualified partisans at the helm will only delay or derail that ascent.' Times staff writers Divya Kumar and Jeffrey S. Solochek contributed to this report.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Santa Ono is coming to The Swamp. Can he survive the conservative heat?
Is a career academic who not too long ago was championing 'DEI 2.0' fit to lead Florida's flagship university? That's the question facing the state university system's Board of Governors at what is expected to be a highly contentious meeting Tuesday, when they vote on whether to confirm Santa J. Ono as the University of Florida's next president — the final political checkpoint in a hiring process that has ignited a firestorm among conservatives nationwide. Ono, who most recently led the University of Michigan, has been branded by right-wing critics as a closet progressive who only recently distanced himself from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to appeal to Florida's conservative leadership. That about-face has taken center stage in Ono's campaign for the UF presidency, which began on May 4 when the university's search committee recommended him as the sole finalist for the $3 million-a-year job. Since then, Ono has spent much of his public-facing candidacy on the political defensive, repeatedly pledging fealty to Florida's higher education reforms and renouncing DEI. At Michigan, Ono had once pushed for a 'DEI 2.0' initiative and oversaw what was one of the nation's most robust diversity offices. But in March, under mounting public scrutiny and pressure from the Trump administration, he eliminated DEI spending entirely. During his public interview with UF's Board of Trustees last week, Ono tackled the criticisms head on. 'What matters most, I think, is not what I said two to six years ago, but what I have done in the past year and a half,' he said. As for DEI, Ono was unequivocal: 'DEI will not return to the University of Florida,' he said. Yet resistance has remained fierce. Ono has been the target of sustained opposition research, mental health smears and condemnations from prominent Republicans like U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. Donald Trump Jr. called him a 'woke psycho' last week and urged the Board of Governors to reject him. U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, an early front runner in the upcoming Florida governor's race, said on Sunday that his team would monitor Ono 'very, very closely.' But one decisive voice has not joined the anti-Ono chorus: Gov. Ron DeSantis. While admitting to reporters on Thursday that some of the former Michigan president's past statements made him 'cringe,' he deferred final judgement to the Board of Governors — which is packed with DeSantis appointees. At the same time, the governor made his expectations clear: 'We don't want [UF] to be a fountain of activism or leftist indoctrination. If you go in that direction, then you will not have support to continue.' UF Board of Trustees Chairman Mori Hosseini, who is a close DeSantis ally and a major Republican donor, has fiercely defended Ono as a 'break from the progressive orthodoxy that has gripped too many elite campuses.' UF trustees unanimously backed Ono on Tuesday. Ono's candidacy is a striking example of how deeply Florida's politics have seeped into the workings of its higher education landscape. Traditional academic decisions — appointing deans, safeguarding tenure, designing curricula, managing accreditation and permitting faculty testimony — have become ideological proxy wars. Now, the hiring of a college president has escalated into a national flashpoint. It raises questions about whether veteran academics can still thrive as university leaders in an environment where the Trump administration and state legislatures are aggressively reshaping higher education to align with political agendas. Bernie Machen, who led UF as president from 2004 to late 2014, told the Miami Herald on Monday that he's alarmed by the level of political interference in the state's higher education system. If Ono'd appointment is derailed for political reasons, Machen warned, 'I don't think we would be able to get a viable candidate anymore.' Machen, 81, also questioned the rigor of UF's last presidential search, which led to the 2022 hiring of Ben Sasse, then a sitting U.S. senator with little higher-ed leadership experience. Sasse resigned in July after less than two years, following criticism over excessive spending and a management style widely seen as ill-suited to running a major research university. 'He didn't appear to me to be a qualified candidate,' Machen said. 'How he got it is beyond me — and the results speak for themselves.' With Ono, Machen said, UF did things right: 'I think you have every reason to think that the selection of Ono will be successful… we've done everything we were asked to do to find the right candidate.' Academics first, politics second Leading the charge against Ono is Christopher Rufo, a Washington State-based conservative activist who has closely advised on DeSantis' overhaul of Florida's higher-ed system and was among a slate of conservatives appointed in 2023 by DeSantis to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees. From his perch on X, where he commands an audience of over 823,000, Rufo has circulated video clips meant to highlight Ono's progressive record, including moments where Ono declares that 'systemic racism is embedded in every corner of any institution,' endorses campus anti-racism efforts, promotes an 'Indigenous strategic plan' and delivers an Indigenous land acknowledgment. Rufo, who did not respond to requests for an interview, is now urging the Board of Governors to order a restart on UF's presidential search, arguing that 'it is better to proceed slowly and end with a solid conservative than to rush the process and end up with a standard-issue progressive.' There's some at UF who would counter that selecting a conservative for the big job didn't work out well last time. Danaya Wright, a longtime UF law professor and two-time Faculty Senate chair, said while Sasse brought political connections, he lacked administrative chops necessary to lead one of the nation's top research universities. She also pointed to New College, where, under Rufo's watch and the leadership of former GOP lawmaker Richard Corcoran, the school has faced criticism over surging per-student costs and mismanagement of donor funds. 'I think Chris Rufo needs to spend a little more time getting his own house in order,' Wright said. In Wright's view, Ono fits the centrist mold of past Florida presidents like Machen and Kent Fuchs, who returned as interim president in August. That's a relief, she added, after the Sasse era, which many on campus saw as defined by ideology and inexperience. 'The right approach,' she said, 'is to find someone who you think is a good administrator,and then cross your fingers that they can maneuver through the politics of the state, becuase just being a politician is not enough to run a $1 billion research institution.' The interview Ono's passed him first major political hurdle during his appearance before Florida's trustees last Tuesday, which more closely resembled a Capitol Hill confirmation hearing than a job interview. For two hours, trustees drilled him on ideological topics. Virtually no time was spent discussing his vision for the university's academic future. Pressed repeatedly on antisemitism, Ono vowed to combat it and shut down any encampments that sprung up on campus under his leadership. He distanced himself from past land acknowledgments and climate change commentary, assuring the board he would avoid 'politically or socially contested issues.' Ono, an immunologist, even framed his reversal on DEI through the lens of the scientific method, saying new evidence convinced him that DEI programs were stifling free speech. Even Ono's mental health history was dragged into the spotlight. Years ago, he publicly disclosed that he had twice attempted suicide in his youth — an effort to destigmatize mental illness on campus. An anonymous right-wing group, posting on X as Commies on Campus, has weaponized Ono's past struggles with depression in attacks on his fitness for the role. When Rahul Patel, the vice chair of UF's board who led the search committee, pressed Ono about his mental acuity on Tuesday, the candidate insisted that he has been 'high functioning' for decades. 'I'm verging on almost 35 years,' Ono said, 'Without medication, without counseling, without therapy.' Trustees never explicitly questioned Ono on how he'd handle immigration — a hot topic on college campuses in Florida and across the nation — but alluded to his own background. Born in Canada to Japanese immigrants, he grew up in Baltimore and Philadelphia and is now a U.S. citizen, along with every other member of his family. 'I am a proud American,' Ono said. 'I grew up in Baltimore. I love going to Fort McHenry. I sometimes still read the words of the Star Spangled Banner.' Before trustees unanimously voted in Ono's favor, Patel endorsed him as one of a 'few people in the country who have both the conviction to lead this university in the direction Florida has set and the operational ability to actually deliver on that vision.' Trustee Daniel O'Keefe, one of the more skeptical board members, chimed in to say he was satisfied with Ono's 'truthful and heartfelt' answers. 'I think he can be in alignment on our vision for University of Florida,' he said. 'Marching orders' For Judith Wilde and James Finkelstein, a research duo at George Mason University who study college presidencies, the national outcry around Ono is unprecedented. As Finkelstein put it: 'How many times do you see national figures and organizations urging a governing body not to approve the appointment of a university president? Never.' (Trump publicly commented on the appointment of Sasse in 2022, posting on Truth Social that UF would 'soon regret their decision to hire him.' Finkelstein dismissed the remark, saying Trump will 'weigh in on anything.') Both Finkelstein and Wilde said that Ono's credentials — three college presidencies, a former provostship and a lengthy research résumé — make him a top candidate for the UF presidency. Unlike Sasse, Finkelstein said, Ono isn't 'someone you have to put training wheels on.' They also said it's unlikely Ono would revive DEI at UF even if he wanted to. His draft contract includes performance incentives tied to enforcing DeSantis-backed reforms, including the state's blanket ban on DEI spending. 'He's got his marching orders,' Wilde said. 'I think he fully believes that he will do whatever it takes to get the job, fully intends to do it.' Still, the pair questioned whether Ono would be able to secure legitimacy among Florida's roster of public university presidents, which has become increasingly crowded with former GOP politicians and DeSantis allies. Finkelstein summed up the stakes bluntly: 'Just because he's qualified doesn't mean he's going to be successful in Florida.'
