University of Michigan ends DEI programs effective immediately
In response to federal pressure by the Trump Administration, U-M is ending DEI school leaders announced Thursday.
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- Santa Ono resigned his job as president of the University of Michigan last month to pursue the Florida job.
- His rejection comes just one week after the Board of Trustees of the Gainsville Campus unanimously approved his nomination.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Former University of Michigan President Santa Ono was rejected in his bid to be the next president of the University of Florida.
That school’s Board of Governors voted down his nomination Tuesday, June 3, after Ono had come under withering criticism from conservatives in Florida and elsewhere who were troubled by his tenure in Ann Arbor, including his previous support of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Ono resigned his U-M job last month when he was named the sole finalist for the top job at Florida. The Free Press was unable to reach Ono for comment.
The Free Press also left a message seeking comment from U-M. Several of the school’s regents declined to comment.
Derek Peterson, a U-M professor of history and African studies, serves as chair of the Faculty Senate. He told the Free Press in an email that Ono had disavowed core elements of liberal education in his purusit of the Florida job.
“That a former Michigan president would take these positions should cause us—as we look for a new university leader—to more firmly inquire into our candidates’ track record,” Peterson said. “We need a president with a spine. We need firm evidence that the candidates we consider have a record of promoting those elements of liberal education that we all value. We do not want a leader who will trim his or her sails to whatever the prevailing wind in Florida might be.”
The rejection marked a stunning fall from grace for Ono, who had received unanimous support a week earlier from the Board of Trustees at the university’s flagship school in Gainsville. That support included a contract that could have paid him up to $15 million over five years.
The Board of Governors that voted him down oversees the entire University of Florida system, which has 12 public universities, including the Gainesville campus.
Ono had tried to navigate the changing political winds higher education now faces in the second Trump administration. At times, he was criticized for appearing to capitulate to Trump’s demands.
In February, the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funds from universities that consider race in their admission practices.
In March, Ono announced that U-M would close its expansive Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and redirect that money to more student-focused efforts like the expansion of the Go Blue Guarantee, which provides free tuition for students from Michigan who meet income guidelines.
Also in March, the U.S. Department of Education threatened to withhold funding to 60 universities across the country, including U-M, for what the Trump administration considered the schools’ insufficient efforts to combat antisemitism.
That charge came after U-M had long faced criticism of its treatment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campus, including the removal of a protest encampment on the U-M Diag.
The school’s treatment of those protesters prompted lawsuits against U-M, but in the eyes of some people in Florida, Ono was too soft on the encampment.
On June 2, Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott blasted Ono’s nomination in a post on X ahead of the vote.
“Clearly, Ono has a concerning record from his time at the University of Michigan, where he allowed an illegal, pro-terrorist encampment to take over the campus for nearly a month, putting Jewish students in danger and failing to uphold even the most basic standards of leadership,” Scott wrote. “He also has a record of embracing divisive and radical DEI policies, showing he is willing to appease and prioritize far-left activists over ensuring students are protected and receive a quality education.”
Alan Festo of the Gainesville Sun contributed to this report.
Contact John Wisely: jwisely@freepress.com. On X: @jwisely
