It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine
When the University’s 15th president, Santa J. Ono, stepped into his role in October 2022, he brought a unique capacity for infectious enthusiasm. Enjoy these images of President Ono, as he discovers what every Wolverine already knows. These images and captions were pulled from Ono’s personal Twitter account @SantaJOno; follow him there and at his official U-M Twitter account @UMichPrezOno. This sampling of images will show there’s never a dull moment when Ono is on the scene, whether it’s a sporting event, an academic meeting, or an administrative sit-down in Ann Arbor, Flint, or Dearborn.
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Tackling the globe
“Great to be reunited with my Cincinnati friend Dhani Makalani Jones, 3-time All-Big Ten athlete with the Michigan Wolverines and linebacker with the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Cincinnati Bengals,” President Ono tweeted from the sidelines at Michigan Stadium.
Jones, a 2000 graduate of LSA’s Residential College, hosted the Travel Channel series “Dhani Tackles the Globe.”
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Music to our ears
“I very much enjoyed attending my first meeting as a member of the board of the @UMSpresents at Michigan,” tweeted President Ono regarding the University Musical Society. “UMS contributes so much to the university community and beyond.”
(Ono plays the cello, FYI.)
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Crowd work
Michigan Photography’s Austin Thomason snapped this tweeted photo of President Ono at a leadership address as he answered a question from Katrina Wade-Golden, associate vice provost for equity and inclusion and deputy chief diversity officer.
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Sweetwaters
“What a pleasure to get together with Dr. Amy Young and Kristin Meekhof this morning for coffee at Sweetwaters on E. Liberty,” Ono tweeted soon after he arrived on campus. “And a special thanks to the barista who wrote ‘Go Blue!’ on my coffee cup.”
Young, a business communications lecturer at Michigan Ross, holds a PhD from U-M’s Psychology Dept. Best-selling author Meekhof, MSW, is a graduate of U-M’s School of Social Work. Sweetwaters, meanwhile, is owned by Michigan alumni Lisa Bee, BA ’90, and Wei Bee, BA ’90.
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Good sport
When Santa fan Siobhan Stemme tweeted “#crislerlive with @SantaJOno go blue!” President Ono replied, “Thanks for supporting your fellow students, Siobhan! Go Blue and happy holidays.”
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Seeing potential
Yan Zhang, assistant professor of biological chemistry, explains her lab’s CRISPR-Cas3 base editing tools and their therapeutic potential to the new president. Phyllis Hanson (right), chair of biological chemistry, tweeted this image from an event titled “Celebrate Invention.”
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Choose wisely
“I enjoyed bumping into Josh Bartelstein (left) and George David of the Detroit Pistons,” President Ono tweeted in October. “Josh wore #20 on the Wolverines team and went from being a walk-on to captain of the 2013 team that won the B1G championship. I’m glad he chose Michigan over Penn as his college destination.”
Bartelstein and David are assistant general managers for the Pistons. Bartelstein holds Michigan degrees in sport management and sport/fitness administration and management.
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Bikers
On Oct. 12, President Ono celebrated his new wheels: “It was great working with Joe and Mike at Sic Transit Cycles to get my bike. What a great Ann Arbor store,” he tweeted.
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Frozen
“I love the @ChildrenOfYost. #Justsayin,” President Ono tweeted from a recent hockey game. “Thanks for all that you do to support our Wolverines.” Listen in, as John U. Bacon, BA ’86/MA ’94 counts down five of the top moments in Michigan Hockey, which celebrates 100 years in 2023.
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A meeting of presidents
“I enjoyed my first meeting with Corie Pauling, President of the University of Michigan Alumni Association,” Ono noted on Nov. 9. “Looking forward to working with her and connecting with the 657K U-M alumni around the world.” Pauling is a 1993 COE graduate in industrial and operations engineering. She succeeds Steve Grafton, who held the role from 1994-2022.
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Hello, hello
“Thanks to all of the great students who stopped by the Trotter Multicultural Center at the University of Michigan to say hello today,” Ono tweeted Nov. 7. “I’m looking forward to future interactions with you. ”
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Living legend
“With the legendary Coach Red Berenson. One of our very best,” tweeted President Ono.
Berenson, BBA ’62/MBA ’66, played for U-M and coached Michigan Hockey for 33 seasons. He also had an integral role in 1972’s “Summit Series,” a nailbiting showdown between Canada and Russia, showcased in this month’s episode of “Listen in, Michigan.”
Don Baty - 1964
This issue is exactly what I think the alumni magazine should be…Touting the exploits of our new President, Michigan grads and programs…. Not the politically charged issue in the Spring of 2019 with cover of the Alumni magazine featuring a Mexican editor, denied asylum twice by Obama judges and miraculously showing up in AA, speaking no English and harbored somewhere within in University. I had the pleasure of meeting our new president at a tailgate this Fall
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Kathy Burton - 1972
Way to go Don Baty and the recent Alumni Mag. We need more fusion not fission in our society.
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