The University of Florida's Board of Trustees on May 27 unanimously approved Dr. Santa Ono as the university's 14th president.

Wearing a bright orange and blue tie, Ono sat in front of the trustees for a nearly three-hour interview at Emerson Alumni Hall. Ono, who had served as president of the University of Michigan (UM) since 2022, was questioned during the meeting on topics like diversity, equity and inclusion programs, antisemitism, and climate change.

"Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. It is an extraordinary honor to have been unanimously chosen by the search committee as the finalist to be the next president of the University of Florida — an institution with exceptional momentum, not only in national and international rankings, but also in the breadth, depth, and quality of its academic enterprise," Ono said in a prepared statement.

Ono, who previously trumpeted the success of UM's DEI program before closing it in March 2025, made clear during the meeting that DEI will not return to UF's campus as long as he is president.

Some at UM had accused Ono of closing the school's DEI office in an effort to impress UF officials, however, Ono said that UM underwent a more than year-long review of its DEI program and felt it brought more division than unity to the university.

“I'm excited to be the leading edge of reform in education at the University of Florida and in the state of Florida,” Ono said. “The fact is some of my past remarks about DEI do not reflect what I believe, and that evolution did not take place overnight and it was shaped over a year and a half of thinking, discussions, listening to faculty, staff and students and their thoughts on the DEI program.”

Rahul Patel, chair of UF's Presidential Search Committee and vice chair of the university's board of trustees, said the committee began its search in January and first reached out to Ono and other candidates in early February.

Ono during his interview also addressed questions on antisemitism and student activism. He said during his prepared statement that he had heard from many Jewish students and faculty who felt unsafe following the attacks by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

"Jewish students absolutely deserve the kind of environment free of harassment or any kind of situation that impacts their ability to learn like any other student," Ono said.

In May 2024, Ono ordered a tent encampment with students protesting Israel's military offensive in Gaza removed from campus. At least seven pro-Palestinian demonstrators were reportedly arrested.

Ono said that officials were forced to act after the protesters refused to remove fire hazards.

"The protesters refused to comply with these requests," Ono said, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.

Ono wrote in an op-ed after he was announced as the sole finalist to become UF's president that he believes peaceful protests have a place in campus life, but that UF is not a place for "disruption, intimidation or lawlessness."

While the contract between Ono and UF has yet to be released, UF's Committee on Governance, Government Relations and Internal Affairs at a Feb. 25 meeting unanimously approved a compensation package for UF's next president of up to $3 million.

After the vote, a glowing Interim President Kent Fuchs extended his arms open for a congratulatory hug to a tearful Ono.

Ono becomes the permanent successor to former UF President Ben Sasse, who resigned in July 2024 after just 17 months into the job, after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy.

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.

Ono 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. Before being named as the president of the University of Michigan in 2022, Ono served as the president of the University of British Columbia in Canada and the University of Cincinnati.

Ono's appointment must still be confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors.