The University of Florida’s board of trustees on Tuesday approved Santa Ono to be the next leader of Florida’s flagship university, though one more vote is required before it becomes official.
Ono, the past president of the University of Michigan, needs approval by the governing body of the state university system before he becomes the 14th president of the University of Florida.
“The energy here at the University of Florida is palpable, and I am eager to join the wonderful students, faculty and staff of the Gator Nation,” Ono said in a statement.
The school’s board of trustees selects the president, and, per state law, the appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Board of Governors.
Ono is set to replace Kent Fuchs, who became the school’s interim president last summer after ex-U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse stepped down. Sasse left the U.S. Senate, where he had represented Nebraska, to become the university’s president in 2023.
Sasse announced in July that he was leaving the job to focus on his family after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Soon thereafter, there were reports that Sasse hired six former staffers and two former Republican officials with salaries that outstripped comparable positions and spent over $1.3 million on private catering for lavish dinners, football tailgates, and extravagant social functions in his first year on the job.
The amount was about double the spending of his predecessor, Fuchs, who was brought back to head the university temporarily.
Ono was appointed the 15th president of the University of Michigan in July 2022. At that time, he agreed to a five-year term. Ono said the decision to step down was not made lightly, and he would work with the chair of the Board of Regents to “ensure a smooth and seamless transition.”
Before becoming Michigan’s president, he served six years as president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia and as president and provost of the University of Cincinnati.
On May 8, Michigan named Domenico Grasso its interim president. Grasso will lead the university’s search for its next president, which is set to begin in the coming weeks.
