Ono’s tenure comes to an end
U-M’s 15th president, Santa J. Ono, announced May 4 that he was named the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of Florida. Once the appointment is approved by Florida’s Board of Governors, he is expected to assume the role and leave Michigan.
“Serving as your president over these past three academic years has been a distinct honor,” Ono wrote in an email to the U-M community May 4. “Every day, I have been inspired beyond words by the vibrancy, brilliance, and dedication of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni.”
In a separate message, the Board of Regents expressed gratitude for Ono and his accomplishments and underscored their commitment to a smooth leadership transition.
“President Ono’s leadership is reflected in numerous achievements,” the board stated in its message. “Over the course of his tenure, he has encouraged all of us to dream boldly, to fearlessly explore ideas, to push the boundaries of knowledge, and to be daring in our plans so that we could achieve more than we ever thought was possible.” The board noted Ono’s successes “leave a legacy of which all of us – especially President Ono – can be proud.”
He earned his B.A. in biological sciences from the University of Chicago in 1984 and a PhD in experimental medicine from McGill University in 1991.
Vision for Michigan
Ono launched two university-wide initiatives at U-M — Vision 2034 and Campus Plan 2050 — which engaged more than 25,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and local community members in the development of a 10-year strategic vision for the university and a 25-year blueprint for the Ann Arbor campus.
In his message, Ono listed other accomplishments, including:
- Forging transformative partnerships with OpenAI and Los Alamos National Laboratory and launching a new $1.2 billion artificial intelligence research ecosystem
- Founding the University of Michigan Center for Innovation in Detroit, establishing the Raoul Wallenberg Institute and the Institute for Civil Discourse, initiating the Vision 2034 Faculty Enhancement Initiative, and launching a public arts endowment fund to commission and acquire public art
- Completing major projects, including new residential halls and a new Campus Recreation Center
- Expanding the Go Blue Guarantee and investing significantly in the Wolverine Pathways program
“I leave knowing that the Look to Michigan campaign is progressing ahead of schedule, with bold and clear goals that will secure an even brighter future,” Ono wrote in the May 4 email. “I have every confidence that our exceptional leadership team, our deans and directors, and our Board of Regents will come together behind a new leader, ensuring that Michigan’s extraordinary momentum continues to serve the people of Michigan and the world.”
Gerald Manning - 1960
Past presidents hung in through thick and thin. Ono seems to have been one anxious for new horizons. Or maybe he was a visionary and with “2034” and his other projects he had achieved his vision for our old university and decided it was time for new horizons. I guess the future will be the judge of his short term engagement with the U.
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Randal Salvatore - 1990
Yes, this article leaves one wondering why. The news from Florida is more clear and straight forward. Actually Santa Ono was standing up for what he believes about the importance of universities supporting merit and not some ideological agenda. They Florida coverage showed that he felt excessively pressured by the regents and also by the trespassers who took over his office. Lack of serious effort of security for Ono was likely also major factors.
Ono stated: “Like many, I supported what I believed to be the original intent of DEI — ensuring equal opportunity and fairness for every student. That’s something on which most everyone agrees. But over time, I saw how DEI became something else — more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student success. That’s why, as president of the University of Michigan, I made the decision to eliminate centralized DEI offices and redirect resources toward academic support and merit-based achievement. It wasn’t universally popular, but it was necessary. I stood by it.” I wish UM would have at least made an attempt to cover the issue as I see other journalists covered this better.
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K.C. Sunshine - ‘80, ‘84, ‘92
Thanks for pointing out the disparate coverage about this. I found this quote revealing as well:
“During my tenure leading other public universities, I declined to politicize the institutions or publicly oppose national political figures,” he said. “I did this because I believe universities must serve as platforms for learning, not partisanship or ideological activism.”
And this is especially true for public universities.
I believe that this directly refers to the decline in merit-based hiring and promotion in lieu of ‘ideological purity’ among the faculty. A great many recent faculty were hired under the DEI rubric where their fealty to DEI (aka affirmative action) was central, if not determinative, to the hiring process; that’s what the diversity statements were all about. Thus, the campus has been taken over by a cohort of young activist True Believers and their radical mentors who probably drove president Ono out because he wouldn’t bow to their will. The faculty leadership creates a hostile environment for any president or provost who doesn’t tow the DEI line, even when president Ono simply tried to abide by the will of the vast majority of the citizens of the state of Michigan. (We also see the fomenting of a hostile environment in the local leadership of the city of Ann Arbor, where about 30 people were arrested and charged for taking over the president’s residence, 6 or 7 were charged with felonies, yet all charges were dropped by the radically progressive prosecutor’s office.)
As has been shown repeatedly, DEI, aka affirmative action, is highly unpopular among the vast majority of the people, and affirmative action has been expressly illegal in Michigan since 2006, when Proposition 2 passed by a strong, solid majority of the voters. Yet, even after Prop 2 passed the UM still engaged in in affirmative action, which was simply re-branded as DEI. Ono was the first president who tried to do the right thing by abiding by the will of the voters and the laws of the state, and for this I believe he was driven away.
There needs to be a major re-set at the UM and it’s going to take a president with substantial courage and a strong sense of justice and fairness who is willing to stand up to the radical faculty currently running the show. I wish the Regents the best of luck in finding such a leader.
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Michael Schwartz - 1983
I’ll be wondering how he’ll be supported with any DEI initiatives at U-F in light of that state’s governor’s position and policies on the subject.
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David Treece - 1983; 1988
I live in Florida, and no universities are more politicized than the state universities here. The previous president of the University of Florida was former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, who had no connections to Florida, little academic experience, and was a blatantly political appointment. He left after only 17 months and a major spending scandal. His tenure was much shorter than even Santa Ono at UM! All university presidents here are largely political appointments, and it looks the same now.
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William Carlson - 1984, MS Mechanical Engineering
I was very impressed with how President Ono ran the University during his three year tenure.
I am very disappointed with the UM Regents who forced President Ono to leave.
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Dan Newmark - 2001
Agree that Ono has spoken very openly about the issues that the U of M administration allowed and continues to allow. See the U of Florida article at https://news.ufl.edu/2025/05/why-i-chose-the-university-of-florida/ and https://www.adl.org/campus-antisemitism-report-card/university-michigan.
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frank langstaf - 77' Med
Those Who Stay Will Be Champions
So long, Ono, after throwing Sherrone under the bus. The AD Manuel must go too.
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