The Florida Board of Governors will vote Tuesday whether to confirm Santa J. Ono as UF’s 14th president.
Last Tuesday, UF’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the former University of Michigan president as UF’s next university head after Ben Sasse’s abrupt resignation last summer.
Ono now faces Florida’s Board of Governors, the governing body that oversees Florida’s State University System.
The university system encompasses all of Florida’s public universities, giving it final authority to approve or reject presidential candidates. While the governor does not directly control the university system, the majority of its board members are appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis initially backed Ono, but conservative backlash against U-M’s former president has intensified since his announcement as UF’s presidential finalist, including criticism from Donald Trump Jr.
Now, DeSantis appears to be distancing himself from Ono, stating in a press conference that Board of Governors members must use their own discretion in judging the candidate’s worthiness.
Still, Ono continues to have firm support from officials like UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini.
If confirmed, Ono is poised to begin a five-year contract at UF starting June 4 with a base annual salary of $1.5 million per year. This would make him one of the nation’s highest-paid college presidents.
Cassandra Edwards, the director of communications for the Board of Governors, wrote in an email that board members won’t comment on presidential candidates prior to voting.
Contact Avery Parker at aparker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @AveryParke98398.
Avery Parker is an English and History senior and the Spring 2026 El Caimán editor for The Alligator. He previously worked as The Alligator's University desk editor, as well as a reporter for the University and Enterprise desks. He doesn't know the meaning of the word "freetime," but he can usually be found deep in an archive reading 19th century documents or tending to his four cats.
