After a contentious process that ended dramatically on Tuesday with a rejected final candidate, the University of Florida faces difficult questions about what’s to come for its presidential search.
The statewide board that oversees Florida’s public universities voted 10-6 against the sole finalist, Santa J. Ono, former president of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, who had been unanimously approved by the campus trustees.
Ono was grilled at Tuesday’s meeting by board members who were skeptical that a traditional academic administrator would advance the state’s conservative higher-education agenda, such as stamping out diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
A UF spokesperson declined to comment on the search or to answer specific questions, such as whether a new committee will be formed, when a search might begin, or if there are plans to reconsider other candidates from this round. A spokesperson for the State University System of Florida declined an interview with Ray Rodrigues, the system’s chancellor; a couple of state board members either declined or did not respond to interview requests.
Ono had been set to replace Ben Sasse, the former Republican senator who resigned as UF’s president last year, citing his wife’s health; a state audit later found that he spent unjustified amounts of money on salaries, contracts, and events.
Sarah D. Lynne, who as chair of UF’s Faculty Senate serves as a campus trustee, said she is worried about how the result of Tuesday’s meeting will affect recruiting for UF’s top job as well as other presidencies in Florida.
Lynne said she’s concerned that candidates will be “hesitant” now that they’re not “sure” that the statewide Board of Governors will confirm the trustees’ pick; an override had never happened before. When Ono was announced as the sole finalist, she pointed out, he resigned almost immediately from his previous job at Michigan.
“My concern is that with the latest turn of events that we won’t ever be able to recruit another person with proven success to be a president of this institution,” said Lynne, an associate professor in the department of family, youth, and community sciences.
Having so many leadership positions filled by interim candidates can also be complicated, Lynne added. For now, Kent Fuchs, who served as UF’s president from 2015 to 2023, will continue as the university’s interim leader until at least July 31, with the possibility of an extension. There are five temporary deans as well, including at the Levin College of Law, the College of Arts, and the College of Medicine.
The presidential vacancy is exacerbating that challenge: Many dean searches are on hold until a new leader is selected, said Meera Sitharam, the UF chapter president of the United Faculty of Florida, the state’s faculty union.
Interim leaders are unable to make decisions that can help UF “elevate and move in new, innovative directions,” Lynne said.
“You can hold the ship steady, and that’s fine, but we need stable leaders and positions that can actually help us elevate,” she said.
A higher-education consultant, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the search process, said he expects many contenders to take themselves out of the running due to Florida’s political climate. That’s not necessarily a problem as long as there are high-quality candidates, he added: “You don’t need hundreds, you need 10 to 15.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, though Ono attempted to show his alignment with the trends in Florida politics, board members questioned his motives, citing past statements made by Ono that indicated support for diversity efforts, vaccines, and climate change.
Sitharam, the faculty union leader, said she wasn’t expecting Ono to be rejected by the Board of Governors. Still, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be an easy process: “I knew this wasn’t going to be the usual rubber stamping, that’s for sure.”
Sitharam believes that Tuesday’s result might give potential candidates ammunition to negotiate for higher pay. Ono was already set to receive a lucrative contract at UF, with compensation reaching as high as $3 million a year.
“It is kind of understood that these positions now are highly fraught, and these positions may not last very long anyway,” said Sitharam, who is a professor in the department of computer and information science and engineering.
Lynne, the UF Faculty Senate president, said she had been optimistic about Ono and his ability to build the institution’s stature. Some trustees are eager to boost UF back into the top-five public universities in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
“I felt like we couldn’t be stopped from becoming a No. 1 public under Dr. Ono,” Lynne said, referencing the rankings.
“I feel much less confident in our ability to achieve that goal right now.”
