The UF Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to select Dr. Santa Ono as the university’s 14th president, subject to confirmation by the Florida Board of Governors. 

Trustees questioned Ono about his past stances on climate change and antisemitism along with how his thinking has changed on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. The confirmation vote was part of a regular UF Board of Trustees meeting at Emerson Alumni Hall.  

The vote comes a few weeks after UF announced Ono as the lone finalist for the position and 10 months after former President Ben Sasse unexpectedly resigned.  

Ono praised the trustees, interim UF President Kent Fuchs and the state of Florida for leading the way in higher education. He compared the university’s trajectory as a research institution to a rocket ship and said Florida invests double to triple the funding of other states into their education system.  

He called UF the most consequential university in America today. 

“America needs leaders grounded in scholarship, not ideology,” Ono said. “I’m a biomedical scientist. I came to Florida to help continue rebuilding higher education around excellence, inquiry and merit. I came to Florida because I truly believe that it can rise from being one of America’s great public institutions to becoming the very best.” 

Ono served as president of the University of Michigan starting in 2022 before resigning this month in anticipation of the UF post. He also led the University of Cincinnati and the University of Vancouver.  

He’s held research positions and faculty positions at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Medical School, studying diabetes, immunology and eye disease. 

His remarks touched on four main issues: antisemitism, DEI, climate change and democracy.  

Ono said his stance on DEI evolved over a year and a half while at the University of Michigan. At the university, he and top administrators began to look at the impact of DEI programs through conversations with students, faculty and staff. He said the University of Michigan found the programs were creating division and pulling resources away from students.  

He said DEI initiatives were nearly universal at universities and colleges. But the thinking, while well intentioned, has begun to shift. He said Florida has led the way to return to a merit-based system and a campus that is free to engage in ideas, not cultivate “ideological activists.”  

He said his stance on DEI won’t budge.  

“I did not come to bring DEI back; I came to make sure it never returned,” Ono said. 

Ono also reiterated his support for Jewish Gators and fielded several questions on the topic. UF has approximately 6,500 Jewish students, according to Hillel International.

Trustee Daniel O’Keefe asked Ono: “Do you believe that our Jewish students are just as entitled as other students to a safe campus free of threats and harassment?” 

Ono affirmed his support for Jewish students and said antisemitism has increased following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. In the wake of the attacks, Ono said he held dozens of meetings with Jewish students and the campus Chabad.  

He called antisemitism “uniquely virulent” and said it often hides behind the language of political critique. 

Board Chair Mori Hosseini questioned Ono about the demonstrators and tent encampments at the University of Michigan following the attacks and why he allowed them to remain for 30 days.  

Ono said resources and policies weren’t ready to handle the situation, but he said the university now has plans in place to deal with encampments. Ono said he wouldn’t allow encampments at UF.  

Ono said he spoke with Jewish students who would soon graduate. Some feared not having a graduation ceremony if the situation escalated, so Ono said the administration waited to ensure breaking up the encampments didn’t impact graduation. 

UF experienced pro-Palestinian protesters in 2024, quickly preventing any encampments and resulting in multiple arrests.  

Protesters also stormed UF meeting when Ben Sasse visited campus for a series of forums leading to his selection as president. Following the protests that halted the meeting, UF changed and enforced policies concerning demonstrations inside university buildings. 

Trustees also asked Ono about his position on climate change. He said the university should lead by researching and providing studies about the weather and impacts on agriculture, building and other sectors.  

But Ono said he would not use his position as president to opine on climate change or promote his personal beliefs. At the University of Michigan, he said he learned that when the president speaks out on a debated issue it can stifle conversation and debate.  

Ono also addressed a statement from earlier in 2025 about democracy being under attack. He said that statement had nothing to do with President Donald Trump’s recent election. Instead, he was speaking to geopolitics and nations like China, Russia and Iran seeking to undermine democracy.  

He said the education sector must refocus on civic engagement to help students understand Western civilization and what it means to be American. 

Trustee Rahul Patel led the search committee that resulted in Ono as the sole candidate for the position. He said he had every confidence in Ono and noted that his changed stance on DEI is a result of experience and conversations with those involved. He also highlighted Ono’s experience leading three major universities. 

“I believe he’s fully aligned with Florida’s values and vision for higher education,” Patel said. “But I also want to focus on something that hasn’t received as much attention in the public discourse, and that’s experience. Running a university like the University of Florida isn’t a theoretical exercise. It takes real, proven executive leadership.” 

Patel took the time to defend Florida’s state law that allows universities to conduct presidential searches without revealing the names of candidates and to present a lone finalist.  

The law drew scrutiny in 2023 after former Sasse was selected, with critics saying it allowed biased searches since stakeholders lacked options. 

In the 2025 legislative session, the Florida House voted 100-8 to pass a bill that would strip the secret process. The bill never made it to a Senate vote before the end of the regular session.  

Patel and Hosseini mentioned multiple times that the UF search netted multiple sitting presidents of major universities. Patel said each of those sitting presidents required confidentiality to proceed with the process.  

In the last three years, Patel said 30 of the 32 presidential searches by universities in the Association of American Universities resulted in a single finalist being named. He said confidentiality isn’t just reasonable but standard operating procedure.  

“Sitting presidents face significant consequences at their current institutions if they are publicly identified as unsuccessful candidates in another search,” Patel said. “That risk understandably deters many of the most experienced and qualified leaders from entering open, multi-finalist processes.” 

Ono said he’d like to stabilize the dean and cabinet positions where there are several interims. He said he also wants to listen to all stakeholders about the next strategic plan for UF.  

He said Fuchs successfully created the former 10-year strategic plan and told him another is needed.  

The Florida Board of Governors will need to ratify Ono as president, but the motion passed Wednesday allows Hosseini to continue with contract negotiations once board votes on Ono’s candidacy. 

Editor’s Note: This story has been changed to update the number of Jewish students at UF.