by
President Santa J. Ono
After less than three years, University of Michigan President Santa Ono is stepping down to become president of the University of Florida. His appointment must be finalized by the Florida university's board.
He is expected to assume the position this summer.
“I have informed the Chair of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, Kathy White, of my decision,” he said in a statement to the U-M community. “This decision was not made lightly, given the deep bond Wendy and I have formed with this extraordinary community.”
Ono’s tenure was marked by turbulence.
The Detroit News reports:
Ono’s imminent departure from Ann Arbor comes after a tenure of less than three years and follows campus unrest over the Gaza-Hamas war and the dismantling of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Recently, four Democratic regents pushed back against Ono, urging him to involve the university in resisting President Donald Trump’s threats to revoke research funding from institutions that continue DEI efforts, promote far-left ideologies in curricula, or fail to combat antisemitism aggressively.
Ono also recently faced the fallout from the indictment of former University of Michigan assistant football coach Matt Weiss, who was charged with allegedly gaining unauthorized access to student-athlete databases at more than 100 colleges and universities and downloading intimate photos and videos.
He became U-M president in late 2022, ushering in a new era, shortly after the school announced it had finalized its $490 million settlement with victims of Dr. Robert Anderson, the late physician for the school's athletic department who was accused of sexually assaulting scores of students.
