UF president finalist Ono talks DEI, experimental learning in meetings with students, faculty

Dr. Santa J. Ono, the current president of the University of Michigan and the only finalist to become the University of Florida’s 14th president, met with students and faculty on May 6 in a series of forums held at Emerson Alumni Hall in Gainesville.

Ono discussed a range of topics during three separate one-hour sessions with faculty, students and staff, and administrators, including DEI, community outreach and experimental learning.

Rahul Patel, chair of UF’s Presidential Search Committee and vice chair of the university’s board of trustees, said during Tuesday’s forum that Ono was one of 10 sitting university presidents considered for the role.

Calling Ono a renowned researcher, Patel said part of the reason the committee unanimously selected him was his impressive resume and desire to create an open-door policy for faculty and students.

“Everywhere Dr. Ono has been, he’s demonstrated a remarkable ability to connect and resonate with students, faculty, administrators, staff and stakeholders,” Patel said.

Commending the work of previous UF presidents and faculty for instilling success, Ono said he’s been keeping track of the university’s academic and athletic achievements for the past 15 years.

“What really drives me more than anything else is the students,” Ono said. “I can tell you that state support for the University of Florida is three times more than Michigan supported the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor and that’s pretty impressive, very attractive to a university president.”

Ono answered varying pre-screened questions from stakeholders that were read by different members of the board of trustees.

During the part of the day set aside for students, UF student body president and search committee member John Brinkman asked Ono for his thoughts on DEI initiatives, to which Ono replied that its ideology is changing higher education.

Recalling his and former UF President Ben Sasse’s decision in recent years to close each university’s respective DEI office, Ono said he felt the investment was going toward the bureaucracy of the office, not the students.

“Some of the things I hear is not everyone is included in the support that’s provided,” Ono said. “To me, it’s an American thing to support all students as opposed to just some of the students. It was my decision, but it was based on data and evidence, and this reallocation of funds allows more students to be given more opportunities.”

Ono added that his position on eliminating the DEI office aligns with state government and the university.

Ono said one of the ways he wants to excel as president is to engage more with the university and its network, a criticism UF faculty and students expressed of Sasse. Ono said he does not want to work all day in an administrative building and that he would implement more impromptu interactions with students and faculty.

“I’m a faculty member myself and right now I’m in literature, sciences, and the arts, biology, school of medicine — which my discipline is ophthalmology — and visual sciences and other schools as well, and I still have a lab,” Ono said.

Ono said he might even take the time to meet students at a nearby watering hole.

“I’ve heard of a place not too far from here called midtown, specifically a bar called Salty Dog, but maybe I’ll see you for a drink if I’m selected,” he said.

Logan Boyd, a freshman, and one of only a handful of students to attend the forum, said he felt the selection committee made a safe choice in Ono.

“I think our last president was too involved in a bureaucratic mess and was a big spender, so the bar is set pretty low,” said Boyd, an anthropology major. “I do think he (Ono) was glazing about the university a bit too much and appealed too much into our egos, but I get that’s how you have to talk.”

Boyd said he disagreed with Ono’s decision to close the Michigan DEI office, but felt he took a nuanced and respectful approach to the controversial topic. He also said he is happy that Ono is already engaged with the sports and academic communities.

Nikolas Latorre, a junior economics major, said he was impressed with Ono’s straightforward answers and his initiative to create a future of experimental learning at UF, such as with artificial intelligence and agriculture.

Ono, according to a May 4 UF press release announcing him as the only finalist for the position, holds a doctorate in experimental medicine from McGill University and has held previous faculty appointments at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Harvard University and University College London.

He served as president of the University of Cincinnati from 2012 to 2016 and at the University of British Columbia in Canada from 2016 to 2022.

If approved by UF’s board of trustees, Ono’s appointment must then be confirmed by Florida’s Board of Governors.

He would be the permanent successor to Sasse, who resigned in July 2024 after just 17 months into the job, after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy.

Kent Fuchs, who served as UF president from 2015 to 2023, was quickly appointed by the board of trustees to serve as interim president, a position he has held since Aug. 1, 2024.

“If I could select a dream candidate for the university’s next president, it would be Santa Ono,” Fuchs said in a UF news release.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Dr. Santa J. Ono meets with University of Florida students and faculty