4 days ago
‘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.'
