The University of Florida has selected Santa Ono as the sole finalist for the presidency, contrasting its recent trend of appointing politically affiliated leaders. Ono, with a robust academic background including leadership roles at the University of Michigan, Cincinnati, and British Columbia, is seen positively by many faculty members. Conversely, the prior president, Ben Sasse, left after a brief tenure amid controversy, raising concerns about the ideologically driven appointments in the state. This selection may signal a departure from previous trends focused more on political alignment than academic experience.
Sasse, a Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska when he was hired in late 2022, previously served as president of Midland University, a small institution in his home state.
Ideology has regularly trumped experience in recent Florida presidential hires. Multiple former lawmakers, all Republicans, are at the helm of various state institutions.
Considering those recent hiring trends, Ono is an outlier-a traditional higher ed candidate in a state where Republican governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Board of Governors have taken active roles in presidential searches.
And while many faculty members have celebrated the selection of a candidate with strong research and leadership credentials, some conservative figures are pushing back on Ono.
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