Florida’s Board of Governors has thrown a curveball by blocking Santa Ono’s appointment as the university’s next president. This decision, made on Tuesday with a 10-6 vote, defies the earlier unanimous support Ono received from the Board of Trustees back in May. It’s a move that’s being called “unprecedented” by Curt Anderson of the Associated Press, given the usual deference to the trustees’ selections.
The backdrop to this drama is a mix of political and cultural tensions. At the heart of the controversy is Ono’s past support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs during his tenure at Michigan. This has not sat well with many Republicans, especially following a 2023 state law that bans DEI initiatives in public colleges. Governor Ron DeSantis, who appointed many members of the Board of Governors, has chosen to leave the decision in their hands, but that hasn’t stopped other conservatives from vocally opposing Ono’s appointment.
Adding fuel to the fire, U.S. Senator and former Florida Governor Rick Scott has aired his concerns about Ono’s leadership style. Scott emphasizes the need for a university president who firmly opposes hate and stands with Jewish students, whilst implicitly questioning Ono’s track record on these issues despite Ono’s clear stance against antisemitism.
In the lead-up to the trustees’ approval, Ono assured them that he would not bring DEI programs to Florida. This followed Michigan’s shuttering of its DEI office after Trump’s executive order banning such policies—a move that Ono appears to have retrospectively aligned with, noting a personal evolution in his views shaped by dialogues over time.
During the decisive board meeting, Ono faced intense scrutiny over DEI, particularly from former Republican state House speakers. One board member, Charles Lydecker, criticized the nature of the questioning, suggesting it was more like an interrogation than a fair assessment. “This is not a court of law. Candidly, this process does not seem fair to me,” he remarked, highlighting the atypical nature of the proceedings.
As the dust settles, the future leadership of the university hangs in the balance, with the political and ideological clashes in Florida’s higher education system laid bare for all to see.
