Ono is out. But there are plenty of Ono clones looking for the job—and next time they will disguise themselves better.
Last Tuesday Florida’s Board of Governors rejected Dr. Santa Ono for president of its flagship school, the University of Florida (UF). This came just one week after UF’s Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously approved Ono. In what is typically a procedural process, it marked the first time in the 22 years since the Board of Governors was established that it had rejected a candidate in this fashion. It was a blow for not only Ono, but also UF’s BOT.
How did Ono nearly get approved as UF’s next president? The short answer is the almost childish simplicity of UF’s BOT, and especially its chairman, Mori Hosseini. They created a situation where only an establishment education administrator like Ono could be selected.
On October 29, 2024, Hosseini announced the formation of UF’s presidential search committee. In January 2025, the committee selected SP&A, “a boutique woman- and minority-owned executive search firm” to lead the search (SP&A is currently conducting the presidential search at the University of South Florida as well). Soon thereafter, the search firm created a presidential prospectus that made clear they sought a candidate with “professional and administrative” experience at a “research university or comparable setting,” though others with doctorates or who had “national or international scholarly and administrative success outside academia” could be considered.
This job description stacked the deck against hiring anyone from the realm of politics or administration, which had been the pool from which Florida selected university presidents in recent memory. Manny Diaz, Florida’s Director of the Department of Education who oversaw Florida’s rise to become the No. 1 state for education, was thus ineligible to serve as UF’s next president. No one contacted Diaz about the job. Members of Florida’s Board of Governors (BOG) and Chancellor Ray Rodriguez, head of the State University System of Florida, were ineligible too. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo? Ineligible.
We can only speculate about how the deck was stacked. SP&A colluded with campus stakeholders, especially faculty, when they were retained. Together, they developed the criteria necessary to hire a Santa Ono. The faculty and search firm won when the search committee approved the job description for the next UF president, either through negligence or prestige envy.
Damaging Ono
UF’s Board of Trustees named Ono the sole finalist on May 4, and they set May 27 as the date to vote on his candidacy. A flurry of activity followed. Gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds came out against Ono on May 6. Libs of TikTok and DC_Draino posted viral videos of Ono talking about systemic racism in his previous jobs. A group called @CommiesOnCampus posted what it termed “Eight Hours of Ono” videos on May 16. Floodgates were opened when op-eds from Peter Wood, Maya Sulkin, Karol Marcowicz, and Joy Pullman appeared. Chris Rufo hit the issue hard as the BOT vote neared. More videos were unearthed on transgender issues. All hands were on deck.
UF’s BOT could not ignore what was unearthed. Instead, the BOT scripted a portrayal of Ono as a recent convert to the Florida way. They conducted a carefully orchestrated “interview” on May 27, where members threw questions at Ono like a circus performer would throw peanuts at an elephant about to perform.