Latest news with #MoriHosseini
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Santa Ono blocked from UF presidency amid DEI backlash
The Brief Florida Board of Governors rejects Ono 10-6, defying unanimous UF trustee vote. Political pressure over DEI stances derails once-clear path to top post. The surprise vote intensifies scrutiny of ideological litmus tests in state universities. ORLANDO, Fla. - After a coordinated campaign by conservatives attacking his "evolution" on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, a divided state university system Board of Governors on Tuesday blocked Santa Ono from becoming the University of Florida's next president. What we know Santa Ono, former University of Michigan president and a prominent academic leader, was blocked from becoming the next president of the University of Florida after a 10-6 vote by the state university system's Board of Governors. This came despite unanimous support from UF's Board of Trustees and a strong push by influential GOP donor and trustees chairman Mori Hosseini. Critics pointed to Ono's past support of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and questioned the sincerity of his recent ideological reversal. What we don't know It remains unclear who the new front-runner for the UF presidency will be, or how much influence political actors and outside critics like Christopher Rufo will continue to wield in the selection process. It is also uncertain how this decision might affect ongoing debates around academic freedom and politicization in Florida's higher education system. The backstory Ono had a long public record of support for DEI programs and climate-related divestment policies during his tenures at the University of British Columbia and the University of Michigan. Florida's Republican-led government has recently outlawed DEI in public higher education, creating a high-stakes litmus test for any prospective university leader. Ono claimed his views had "evolved" and praised Florida's approach, but some board members viewed his change as politically expedient rather than principled. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on reporting by The News Service of Florida.
New York Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
University of Florida Approves New President, Recruited From Michigan
The University of Florida's new president will be Santa J. Ono, a biomedical researcher lured from the University of Michigan with a large pay package, despite criticism of him that social conservatives had raised. Dr. Ono's selection was approved unanimously on Tuesday, less than a month after he was named as the sole finalist for the job. In recent years, the state's leadership has sought to steer Florida's education system to the right, and several supporters of President Trump, including Representative Byron Donalds, a candidate for Florida governor, expressed opposition to Dr. Ono because of his past stances on diversity, equity and inclusion. But the university's board chair, Mori Hosseini, who has been on a quest to move the college up in national rankings, strongly endorsed Dr. Ono. 'He is the right person to accelerate U.F.'s upward trajectory and help make it the undisputed leader among America's public universities,' Mr. Hosseini said in a message to the Florida community before Tuesday's meeting. Dr. Ono was chosen after a search to find a permanent successor for Ben Sasse, a Nebraska senator whom Florida recruited in late 2023. He arrived with great expectations but resigned abruptly last summer, little more than a year into his presidency. After Dr. Sasse stepped down, questions were raised about his spending in office. He remains a professor at Florida. The university has sought to regain its spot as a top-five public university in the rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, a place it held for several years but lost in 2024. It was, perhaps, not surprising that its board looked to hire Dr. Ono, who was the president of Michigan, a top-five school. Dr. Ono was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Japanese immigrant parents and grew up in Pennsylvania and Maryland, where his father was a math professor. He also holds United States citizenship and degrees from the University of Chicago and McGill University. He was previously the president at the University of British Columbia and the University of Cincinnati. Before becoming a university administrator, he was known primarily for his work studying juvenile diabetes and macular degeneration. He was also known for advocacy around climate change. Dr. Ono was once a vocal proponent of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and the University of Michigan, where he became president in 2022, was known for its expansive D.E.I. apparatus. But Dr. Ono recently renounced such programs while at Michigan and in an opinion essay published in Florida newspapers. 'Over time, I saw how D.E.I. became something else — more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student success,' he wrote. 'That's why, as president of the University of Michigan, I made the decision to eliminate centralized D.E.I. offices and redirect resources toward academic support and merit-based achievement.' He said he ended the programs despite opposition. 'I'll bring that same clarity of purpose to U.F.,' he wrote. The circulation of Dr. Ono's essay followed an attack from the right, both from Mr. Donalds, a Republican, and from Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who serves on the board of trustees at New College of Florida, another state-funded university. Mr. Rufo had found prior statements by Dr. Ono that supported D.E.I. programs and reposted them online. In one social media post, Mr. Rufo wrote that Dr. Ono was a left-wing administrator who recently declared his support for 'D.E.I. 2.0' and claimed that 'the climate crisis is the existential challenge of our time.' Mr. Rufo also disseminated a statement Dr. Ono made, while president of the University of British Columbia, in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. Despite such criticism, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida supported Dr. Ono for the position. Speaking to the Florida board on Tuesday, Dr. Ono specifically addressed the issue. 'I understand that a few individuals have circulated older statements or videos from me regarding D.E.I. programs at the University of Michigan and U.B.C.,' Dr. Ono said. 'In hindsight, I see those moments differently now, too. What matters most is not what I said two to six years ago, but what I have done in the past year and a half.' Dr. Ono did not renounce his past positions on climate change, but he also told the board he would not use his personal opinions to influence Florida policy. 'My goal is to provide the state with the best possible data,' he said. Details of Dr. Ono's contract have not been disclosed, but the total cash compensation could be as high as $3 million a year, based on a pay range established by the board. His appointment still technically requires the approval of the state's Board of Governors, which oversees all of Florida's public universities.
