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.
Tuesday’s 10-6 vote was a major rebuke to the UF Board of Trustees, which last week unanimously selected Ono for the post, and trustees Chairman Mori Hosseini, an influential Republican donor with longstanding ties to the state university system.
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Ono, an immunologist who recently stepped down as president of the University of Michigan, drew fierce criticism from high-profile conservatives inside and outside of Florida for such issues as his past embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs, as well as his handling of on-campus protests following the 2023 attack by Hamas in Israel.
Echoing what he told the UF trustees last week, Ono emphasized Tuesday that his position on DEI — which DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature have outlawed in public schools and universities — has evolved, as it has for many other higher-education leaders throughout the country.
“All of us in this past few years, there’s been a seismic change,” Ono said. “All of us have had to navigate this, and what I’m saying to you is that I believe that the direction of Florida is the right one.”
But Ono’s assurances didn’t convince some of his harshest critics on the board, including former state House Speaker Paul Renner, who posted a 22-page document titled “The Case Against Dr. Santa Ono” on social media after Tuesday’s meeting began. The document included a section called “The Timeline on DEI Conversion” and another called “Santa Ono’s Misrepresentations to UF Trustees.”
“At the heart of the criticism is Santa Ono’s long history of public comments about systemic racism in America being ‘one of its greatest sins’, the politicization of the climate crisis at the universities he has run, divestment of his university’s endowments from fossil fuel companies to fight global warming, and his support for racial preferences in admissions,” the document said.
Renner peppered Ono with questions about his previous statements regarding DEI efforts at the University of Michigan and positions he espoused decrying systemic racism while he was president of the University of British Columbia.
“Do you believe American society today is systemically racist?” Renner asked.
“I do not. And I believe that sort of ideology is divisive, and that’s why the reform happening in Florida is attractive to me,” Ono said.
Ono also faced fierce questions from board members Alan Levine, Tim Cerio and former House Speaker Jose Oliva.
“Your recent reversal on an entire architecture of ideology is nothing short of incredible,” Oliva said.
Ono earlier said he halted DEI programs at the University of Michigan this year and repeatedly relied on his background as a scientist when defending himself against attacks.
Oliva asked Ono to explain the science behind DEI programs and services. Ono said his “evolution” was based on his personal experiences.
“Everyone is kind of evolving, not only me as a scientist, but the sector is evolving,” Ono said, adding that “Florida’s pointed in the right direction.”
Charlie Lydecker, a board member who served on the UF presidential search committee, said Ono “is the leader we believe could help the University of Florida become the number one public university in America.”
But member Aubrey Edge wasn’t convinced.
“You’ve had a lot of, what seems to be, long-held principles, and then 18 months ago, they kind of all changed,” Edge said. “To me, the problem is, that’s not leadership. True leadership is really standing up for principles, no matter what the environment is.”
Critics’ probing of Ono was so intense that it sparked heated pushback from Lydecker, who said the Board of Governors was intended to “ratify, up or down” a selection unanimously made by UF’s trustees.
“This is not a court of law. 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. “Candidly, this process does not feel fair to me.”
Ono’s presidential contract would have linked his job performance with his adherence to positions that are part of DeSantis’ overhaul of the state’s higher-education system.
Hosseini called the skepticism around Ono “heartbreaking” and pointed to former President Ronald Reagan’s metamorphosis from a Democrat who supported unions to one of the nation’s most beloved Republicans. He said the Board of Governors needed to rely on UF’s trustees, who stepped in after questions were raised about former UF President Ben Sasse’s short tenure.
“The board of trustees are there as a backstop. So if this man doesn’t do what he says he’s going to do, we’re there. We’re your boots on the ground … That is the basis of this board of governors and yet you all decided today is the day we’re going to take somebody down,” Hosseini said.
Hosseini also made a veiled reference to Christopher Rufo, a prominent conservative and member of the New College of Florida Board of Trustees who helped lead the crusade against Ono.
“We should not leave it to just one trustee at another university, who goes on social media and says something,” Hosseini urged. “Give this man (Ono) a chance, like Americans did to President Reagan.
Animosity between the pro-Ono faction and his critics also erupted when board member Eric Silagy asked Hosseini about “a number of detractors in this process” who may have expressed an interest in the UF presidency.
“Who on the board of governors wanted to be president of the University of Florida?” Silagy asked.
“Paul Renner,” Hosseini said, sparking an immediate response from the former House speaker.
“I did not initiate that,” Renner said.
Renner said a UF trustee asked him about the presidential post.
“I contacted the governor’s office. I was told to go talk to Mori Hosseini, and he said he wasn’t interested, and that’s the end of it,” Renner said. The conversation took place before DeSantis appointed him to the Board of Governors in February.
“Under no circumstances, would I serve at this time at the University of Florida,” Renner said.
The vote against naming Ono president appeared to catch Brian Lamb, the chairman of the Board of Governors, off guard.
“OK, the motion fails. First time that’s really happened, so let me just react to that,” he said.