Florida Board of Governors vote to block Santa Ono as next UF president

The Florida Board of Governors has voted to turn down Florida‘s hiring of former Michigan president Santa Ono, according to a report from Politico reporter Gary Fineout. The move comes after a contentious process.

According to the Miami Herald’s Garrett Shanley, the Board of Governors voted 10-6 against Ono as the next Florida president. Florida’s search for a new university president, which had honed in solely on Ono, will now have to resume.

Santa Ono had been voted on unanimously for appointment at Florida by the University of Florida Board of Trustees. That vote happened one week ago.

The Michigan administrator had been identified as the sole finalist in Florida’s process by the Presidential Search Advisory Committee. His appointment, though, was clearly not a foregone conclusion.

Fineout provided some additional context on the decision Tuesday, which came amid a contentious backdrop. Among those who voted no were education commissioner Manny Diaz, as well as former House speakers Paul Renner and Jose Oliva.

Others who supported Santa Ono’s appointment as Florida president were University of Florida Board of Trustees chair Mori Hosseini, a developer and mega-donor. According to Fineout, Hosseini and the other backers of Ono “viewed the luring of the UM president to UF as a sign of the school’s rising prominence.”

Florida’s presidential opening came about after Ben Sasse stepped down from the post in July 2024, citing his wife’s health. His tenure lasted less than two years.

In the interim, former Florida president Kent Fuchs stepped in to fill the void. He was confident at the time that the powers that be would find a capable replacement.

“I do think our board is good at listening,” Fuchs stated, according to WCJB. “They have to listen there are influential people out there donors and others who will feel strongly about who should be the next president or what kind of president and our trustees are pretty good at listening taking that into account but not being overly persuaded… I’m optimistic they’ll find somebody great.”