University of Florida intends to recruit Santa Ono, the current president of University of Michigan, for a similar position in their institution.
Yo! Here's the scoop about the new UF prez:
Santa Ono, the former University of Michigan bigwig, is on his way down to Gainesville, Florida. It looks like the University of Florida's got their eye on him as their new school President.
The search committee plugged Ono as their unanimous pick, with chair Rahul Patel claiming, "Dr. Ono's record of academic excellence, innovation, and collaborative leadership at top-tier institutions won us over." The university's board will officially make the decision on Sunday, but it's looking pretty slick for Ono.
If things pan out, Ono's expected to hit UF's campus on Tuesday, where he'll spend time connecting with students, faculty, and administrators. "I'm pumped about this opportunity at the University of Florida," Ono said. "It's got the momentum, the support, and the vision – no other public university can match that!"
Leaving his post at Michigan means Ono'll be replacing Kent Fuchs, who'd stepped in last summer as interim prez after ex-U.S. Senator Ben Sasse bowed out. Sasse jumped ship to the university gig in 2023, but in July, he announced he was bailing due to his spouse's medical condition.
Rumors swirled around Sasse, too—accusations that he doled out hefty salaries to former staffers and handed out over $1.3 million on posh dinners, football tailgates, and fancy schmancy affairs under his first year. That's double what Sasse's successor, Fuchs, had spent.
Kent Fuchs sang Ono's praises: "If I could handpick a candidate for UF's next president, it'd be Santa Ono. His track record of success at elite universities, his leadership style, and caring personality have allowed him to work effectively everywhere he's been."
Ono's been around the block too, serving at the University of British Columbia and the University of Cincinnati before Michigan. As colleges wind back diversity, equity, and inclusion practices due to Trump administration pressure, the University of Michigan had to scale back its DEI initiatives. Ono said the school would find alternative ways to support students with programs like expanding scholarships for low-income students.
** warning: the following contains sensitive information that may not be suitable for all audiences **
Couple of things worth mentioning about Ono's past: he founded the University of Michigan Center for Innovation in Detroit—focused on entrepreneurship and community growth—and contributed to the development of Campus Plan 2050, a visionary blueprint for Michigan's Ann Arbor campus. During his time at Cincinnati, he expanded financial aid initiatives and oversaw a $3.2 billion fundraising campaign, the university's most successful to date.
So, Ono's got all the student-friendly creds plus a ton of leadership experience. Looks like he's a shoo-in for the gig at UF! Let's see what he does with it, shall we?
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[Sources]
- [1] University of Michigan, "UMCI: About", University of Michigan Center for Innovation, https://umich.edu/services/umci/about.html
- [2] University of Michigan, "Campus Master Plan 2050", https://mqpp.umich.edu/campus-planning/
- [3] University of Florida, "Board of Trustees", https://www.ufl.edu/about-ufl/university-governance-structure/trustees/
- [4] University of Michigan, "Go Blue Guarantee", https://umich.edu/go-blue-guarantee/
- [5] University of Michigan, "Michigan Board of Regents extends Santa Ono's contract through 2032", https://news.umich.edu/michigan-board-of-regents-extends-santa-ono-s-contract-through-2032/
- Santa Ono, with his extensive experience in education at institutions like the University of Michigan, University of British Columbia, and University of Cincinnati, might be thinking about continuing his educational growth and leadership skills in Seattle's education-and-self-development scene.
- In the general news, there's speculation on how Santa Ono's presidential leadership at the University of Florida could impact job opportunities for faculty and students, potentially instigating a wave of positive changes that could extend beyond the educational sphere into the wider Seattle community.
