The University of Florida is poised to nominate University of Michigan president Santa Ono as its next leader.
Dr. Ono was announced on Sunday as the sole finalist of Florida's top job, and said he will take on the role this summer. He received a total cash remuneration of up to $3 million a year, allowing him to become the president of the highest-paid public university in the United States.
Michigan and Florida are one of the nation's most respected schools, but both have faced considerable chaos in recent years, and Dr. Ono, who has irritated many of Ann Arbor's styles, has moved from one lightning bolt to another rock stick.
In March, the University of Michigan announced it would shut down its key diversity, equity and inclusive efforts. This is a program that was subject to internal conflict, but was nevertheless considered a model for the higher education industry. Last week, eight people filed a federal lawsuit denounced retaliatory universities as they participated in parent department protests.
Dr. Ono plans to step into the Florida presidency, where Ben Sasse, a Republican who represented Nebraska in the US Senate, suddenly left last summer.
The boards of both university and university systems still need to ratify the employment of Dr. Ono, but these measures are considered procedures. The university Dr. Ono is scheduled to visit Tuesday did not immediately announce its terms of the contract. However, the board committee voted in February to provide up to $3 million in what is described as “total cash compensation.”
In October, Dr. Ono agreed to an extension of his contract in Michigan, keeping him in Ann Arbor until 2032, increasing his base salary to $1.3 million. Currently, Dr. Ono is set to leave university less than three years after his presidency, the shortest tenure of Michigan's permanent leadership.
James H. Finkelstein, professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University, studied university leadership contracts, but said Dr. Ono had the highest wage for the president of the country's public schools, and he was making money in Florida within a year or two, perhaps as he had at Maigegan in the early 2030s.
Last year, Michigan has faced many problems splitting campus. It fired diversity program administrators after she was accused of making anti-Semitic comments. Last spring, the university allowed a camp related to the war in Gaza to stand for several weeks before authorities could demolish it.
And the war conflicts extended to the student government after Palestinian activists won the election and stopped funding for campus groups unless the university was sold from certain companies. The university refused, and student government leaders were eventually fired each and removed. In Dr. Ono's presidency, Michigan faced a five-month strike by graduate student instructors.
Florida is also involved in a fight that resonates across campus. Governor Ron Desantis' management said he recently stepped in searching for the new liberal liberal arts and sciences director at the University of Florida after social media accounts accused four finalists of being “radical Dei Progressives.”
The university immediately halted its search, and said Kent Fuchs, interim president of Florida, “it is impossible to appoint a new dean without the full participation of the next president.”
However, one of Governor Desantis' aides promoted social media posts that denounced the candidate. Advisor Brian Griffin added that the administration had “cooperated” with the university and the search was “stopped.”
“UF's leadership is cooperative and has been modest,” Griffin, DeSantis's communications director, wrote on social media.
Dr. Ono will play the role that Sasse left on a five-year, $10 million contract for less than 18 months. After Sasse quit, he was attacked during his tenure for university spending and employment. The Florida Board of Directors was also concerned about the decline in universities (5th to 6th to 6th) in its ranking of public universities in the US News & World Report. College later dropped to seventh place.
Florida will become Dr. Ono's fourth president. In addition to Michigan, he led the University of British Columbia and the University of Cincinnati.
“Ono is one of the few presidents today, a professional president,” Dr. Finkelstein said.
Judith A. Wilde, a research professor at George Mason who works with Dr. Finkelstein, pointed out that about 80% of university leaders only have the best jobs in their careers. She said about 18% would go to the second presidency.
In a statement released by Florida, Dr. Ono expressed his enthusiasm for his latest role.
“Other public universities do not combine UF momentum. It serves as flagships for one of the most important states in the country, with extraordinary support from national leaders and a shared vision for the entire community,” he said.
