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https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/education/2025/06/03/board-of-governors-rejects-santa-ono-as-university-of-florida-president/84007003007/

EDUCATION

Florida Board of Governors rejects Santa Ono as University of Florida president

(This is a breaking news story and will be updated.)

The Florida Board of Governors during its June 3 meeting in Orlando voted against the confirmation of Dr. Santa Ono as the University of Florida's next president.

The decision by the 17-member board, which serves as the governing body for the state's 12 public universities, comes a week after UF's Board of Trustees unanimously approved Ono for president on May 27.

Ono was grilled by governors for nearly three hours on his past support of diversity, equity and inclusion 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 also was questioned at length about his views on antisemitism, and holistic versus merit-based admissions.

University of Florida president-elect Dr. Santa Ono is shown June 3 during his confirmation hearing in front of the Board of Governors in Orlando.

The selection of Ono had faced intense backlash from some Republican lawmakers after he was announced on May 4 as the sole finalist by UF's Presidential Search Committee, including from U.S. Reps. Greg Steube, R-Bradenton, Byron Donalds, R-Naples, and Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City.

"@UF sets the benchmark for education nationwide. There’s too much smoke with Santa Ono. We need a leader, not a DEI acolyte. Leave the Ann Arbor thinking in Ann Arbor," Patronis posted June 2 on X.

Former Florida governor and current U.S. Sen. Rick Scott in a June 2 press release said he has "serious concerns about Santa Ono’s nomination," and Donald Trump Jr. questioned on X whether "the decision makers at @UF lost their minds!???"

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in 2023 banning DEI initiatives in public colleges. He said during a news conference on May 29 that while some of Ono's past statements have made him "cringe," he planned to leave the decision of Ono's confirmation to the members of the Board of Governors, most of whom he appointed.

Ono has said multiple times since being announced as the finalist that while he previously supported DEI programs, he now believes they do more harm than good. He closed Michigan's DEI offices in March, and said before being confirmed by the UF board that DEI will never return to UF's campus while he is president.

“The fact is some of my past remarks about DEI do not reflect what I believe, and that evolution did not take place overnight and it was shaped over a year and a half of thinking, discussions, listening to faculty, staff and students and their thoughts on the DEI program," Ono said.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5733045&forum_id=2)#48984439)

> “The fact is some of my past remarks about DEI do not reflect what I believe"

we live in such a faggy world

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5733045&forum_id=2)#48984526)