Former University of Michigan President Fails to Win Vote to Helm Florida’s Flagship School

Santa Ono championed a DEI agenda at the University of Michigan before complying with a Trump order and publicly declaring a change of heart.
Former University of Michigan President Fails to Win Vote to Helm Florida’s Flagship School
Then University of Michigan President Santa Ono speaks at the ADL Never is Now event at Javits Center in New York on March 3, 2025. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League
Aaron Gifford
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Former University of Michigan President Santa Ono is not coming to Gainesville, the Sunshine State’s university system Board of Governors decided Tuesday in a 6–10 vote.

The board also denied the candidate a contract that would have paid a $2 million base salary for leadership roles at both the University of Florida and its UF Health entity, plus 3 percent cost-of-living increases and performance bonuses of up to 20 percent annually, according to the board-approved resolution.

Aaron Gifford
Aaron Gifford
Author
Aaron Gifford has written for several daily newspapers, magazines, and specialty publications and also served as a federal background investigator and Medicare fraud analyst. He graduated from the University at Buffalo and is based in Upstate New York.