The Florida Board of Governors voted Tuesday to reject Santa Ono as the next president of the University of Florida, in a contentious 10-6 vote focused on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The meeting was an "absolute embarrassment" said former BOG member and UF business professor Amanda Phalin, who also called the process deeply political.
Among those voting "no" was Paul Renner, a former Republican lawmaker in the state who had previously angled for the UF presidency, as became clear during board discussions. Throughout the meeting Renner grilled Ono on his past support for DEI, prompting fellow board members to push back, accusing him of “interrogating” Ono and questioning the fairness of his inquiries.
The vote comes after the UF Board of Trustees approved Ono’s hire last week following a public interview that focused largely on DEI. Ono distanced himself from DEI in that interview, arguing that the initiatives began with good intentions but ultimately became divisive. He said they siphoned resources away from student success efforts and stifled dialogue, which he said prompted his decision to close Michigan’s DEI office this spring. (Ono resigned from the Michigan presidency in May to pursue the UF job.)
“I am here to ensure that DEI never returns to the University of Florida,” Ono said Tuesday.
As he did in his public interview with UF’s Board of Trustees last week—Ono emphasized his ideological evolution, which ultimately failed to convince the board.
UF Board of Trustees chair Mori Hosseini also made an impassioned plea to hire Ono.
“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. Outside of Dr. Ono, there are very few people, if any, with a combination of ideological alignment in Florida and the operational experience to run a research powerhouse like you are,” Hosseini said in remarks to the Board of Governors.
He added that “the UF presidency is not a position where someone can learn on the job.”
But the Board of Governors bombarded Ono with a series of sharp questions.
Few had to do with how he would run the University of Florida. Ono had been set to make up to $3 million a year as UF president. Now it appears Hosseini and the rest of the board will have to restart the search process.