On Tuesday morning, the University of Florida will vote on whether or not to make Santa Ono their president. From October 2022-early May 2025, Ono served as the president of the University of Michigan (U-M). Given that university's fixation with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), this certainly seems to be a red flag. It turns out there's indeed a very real concern when it comes to Ono and the kind of president he was and could once more be.
Ono also didn't merely start his DEI crusade at U-M. Before then, he served as president of the University of British Columbia (UBC). When his departure from that institution was announced, the Vancouver Sun went for quite the telling headline on July 13, 2022, "Ono leaves UBC a more inclusive, equitable place."
As the piece mentioned, quoting Nancy McKenzie, a board chair at the university:
His legacy began, she said, with the development of UBC’s strategic plan when Ono first arrived at the University of B.C.
“And flowing from that he’s made significant strides toward equity, inclusion and diversity in our practices and in our workforce, and really worked to build a very inclusive culture.”
Advancing reconciliation with Indigenous people and replenishing the number of faculty were two more important accomplishments of Ono’s, she said.
Just days ago, on May 30, the City Journal published a student's account of Ono's tenure at UBC, "Santa Ono Is No Free Speech Champion," which detailed concerns such as how the university under Ono canceled conservative speakers, including Andy Ngo.
The DEI focus appears to have followed Ono to U-M. There's been plenty of articles about the effects of DEI during his tenure at the institution. He was certainly the popular subject of outlets focused on education.
"UMich now has more than 500 jobs dedicated to DEI, payroll costs exceed $30 million," read a headline from The College Fix from January of last year, showing another strike against such a focus is financial responsibility, or a lack thereof. This comes after headlines from 2022 and 2023 also profiled Ono's commitment to DEI, with "New practices align U-M finances with institutional values" from the university's newspaper for faculty and staff, The University record, published on November 17, 2022. That same day, Bridge Michigan highlighted his commitment to such goals with a headline on how "New U-M president Ono lays out climate change, diversity and staffing goals."
A June 20, 2023 headline from The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted the school under Ono as one focused on DEI, "Where DEI Efforts Are Ambitious, Well Funded, and Taking Fire From All Sides." The subheadline mentioned that the school "has one of the largest DEI operations in the country."
Ono has even tried to sneak around to incorporate DEI, as a headline from The Washington Free Beacon, "Exclusive: At the University of Michigan, DEI Now Hides in Office of ‘Community Culture,'" revealed in February of this year.
As the vote looms closer, other outlets have explored if Ono will once more bring DEI to the university. As a headline from Orlando Weekly read, "New UF leader approved, promises to oppose DEI despite 'woke past.'" The Wall Street Journal also wondered in an opinion commentary piece from Peter Wood last month, "Will DEI Return to the University of Florida?"
U-M has also suffered from concerns of antisemitism and pro-Hamas activity on campus during Ono's tenure as president. It was when he was in charge that the October 7, 2023 attack perpetrated by Hamas took place against Israel. Since then, there has been a noticeable rise in antisemitism in the United States and around the world, including and especially on college campuses. StopAntisemitism has documented plenty of concerns on such a campus, including as it applies to antisemitic administrators and attacks on Jewish students, as well as harassment from pro-Hamas terrorist sympathizers.
There was no statement of any kind put out by Ono on October 7 or even October 8. It was on October 10 that a relevant statement was shared, "U-M statement regarding Mideast violence."
As that statement began with:
To the university community:
Violence is never the answer.
Yet today our campus communities are reeling in the wake of the horrific attack by Hamas terrorists on Israeli citizens and the immense loss of civilian lives.
This violence has caused profound pain within the internationally and culturally diverse University of Michigan community. It is almost certain that more innocent civilians will lose their lives as the fighting escalates.
Tellingly enough, such a statement also referenced "equity." As his statement read towards the end, "We remain committed to the values we cherish at U-M: equity, inclusion, fair treatment for all and respect for our differences. Together, we can support our entire community through acts of unity and community and a renewed commitment to working together toward a common goal – making the world we live in a better place for all."
It's also worth noting that a statement was released on October 9, though noting to do with the attack on our ally in the Middle East. Rather, it was Ono's prepared remarks for delivery on the "2023 DEI Community Assembly."
Ono made absolutely clear he how committed and even "excited" for DEI he was. As he said in part:
We remain steadfast in our commitment to fostering a diverse educational environment for our students and scholars, for doing so is essential to achieving our core mission of academic excellence.
We’re dedicated to DEI. It fosters the exchange and development of ideas; it promotes understanding across different identities, dispels racial stereotypes, and prepares our students to be leaders in the global marketplace and our increasingly multicultural society.
So while we are facing challenges, such as the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action this past June, we will persist, learning and building on our progress, striving to live up to our ideals of a broadly diverse learning community.
That’s why I’m so excited to see the launch of DEI 2.0.
Through DEI 2.0, we will continue to leverage innovative strategies and lessons learned from DEI 1.0, extending our reach and further engaging students, staff and faculty, as well as our broader community.
It’s critical that we do so, for leaders around the country are looking to Michigan for solutions.
And we can show them a better way.
The position has also been held by former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who resigned last July, citing his wife's health concerns. He was succeeded by Kent Fuchs, the acting president. While Sasse was quite clearly a Republican, Ono appears to be an independent, though his political donations reflect supporting Democrats. FEC records show that he made a $250 donation to the DNC in 2024.
As bad as Michigan might be with concerns of antisemitism and pro-Hamas activity, as well as the DEI wokeness under Ono's tenure, much more should be expected for Florida, an increasingly red state, but also under the country as a whole with President Donald Trump's second term.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump spoke out extensively against wokeness, and has been cracking down on DEI in education, including with executive orders.