Ex-U-M President Santa Ono
Dr. Santa Ono hoped to escape the controversy surrounding his presidency at the University of Michigan by landing a job in Florida. But that sprint to Shangri-La has been upended.
On Tuesday, the Florida Board of Governors — the 17-member body that oversees the state’s 12 public universities — voted against confirming Ono as the next president of the University of Florida, The Gainesville Sun reports.
The decision comes a week after the University of Florida Board of Trustees unanimously approved Ono for president.
According to The Gainesville Sun:
Ono was grilled by governors for nearly three hours about his past support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs during his time as president of the University of Michigan, and for allowing an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters to remain on campus for a month. He was also questioned at length about his views on antisemitism and on holistic versus merit-based admissions.
Ono faced opposition from conservatives in the state who were concerned about his support for DEI. Ono recently stated that he now believes his support for such programs was misguided and that they do more harm than good.
Opposition to his appointment came from several Republican lawmakers, including Florida Sen. Rick Scott and Donald Trump Jr., the publication reports.
Correction: The original story in Deadline Detroit said Donald Trump opposed the appointment. It was Donald Trump Jr.
