Students, faculty and staff were able to get their first look at the sole finalist for UF’s 14th president, University of Michigan President Santa J. Ono, in a series of public forums on Tuesday.
Held in the Emerson Hall President’s Ballroom, Ono introduced himself in three sessions. The faculty session occurred first, followed by the student forum. The staff session closed the day out.
Around 100 people participated in the faculty and staff forums respectively. About 75 people attended the student session. Questions were prepared for Ono and remained similar throughout all three sessions.
Ono addressed numerous topics throughout the sessions, including how he plans to juggle his obligations to the university with state oversight from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"My job as president is to support the laws,” Ono said. "I do not believe my role is to provide any kind of political perspective."
He went on to praise the state of Florida, its government and UF. He was impressed at the alignment of the state government, the state economy and UF’s status as a top research institution, factors he said helped make UF an attractive destination.
“Florida is like a rocket ship,” Ono said. “Everyone in higher education knows that this is the place to be.”
He answered questions about keeping athletics competitive in a consistently evolving landscape in NIL, keeping UF’s artificial intelligence at the cutting edge and managing funding for DEI programs. Ono said at Michigan, he reallocated funds towards DEI offices into different student and faculty programs.
Ono, who’s taught at Harvard and Johns Hopkins medical schools and is the chair of UM Health, was adamant about his desire to help forward research, medicine and STEM programs.
Ono also showed commitment to furthering liberal arts programs at UF and said he wants to keep school pride through arts and athletics.
David Hilferty, a 22-year-old UF chemistry alumnus, said he wanted to know more about what Ono would do to protect certain programs.
“He’s making an ample case, but funding is getting cut left and right everywhere,” Hilferty said. “So, what is he planning to do when facing that reality?”
Others, like 27-year-old UF graduate student Krittin Poottafai and 22-year-old UF alumna Camille Green, said they wanted to hear more about his stance on protecting students, especially international students, after a UF international student was deported following a traffic stop.
“I want to know what he would do to protect the rights of international students,” Poottafai said.
Green agreed, saying universities are built upon different groups coming together. However, she said she liked Ono’s commitment to the sciences and his enthusiasm about the job.
“He seems really passionate,” Green said. “I appreciate that he spoke about supporting the students as a whole.”
Ono expressed a desire to be hands-on at UF by keeping UF at the forefront of AI and working closely with athletic director Scott Stricklin. He said he wants to be upfront with students, faculty and staff. He cited his vision statements on the UM website as an example of his transparency with planning the future of an institution.
At the end of the forums, Rahul Patel, the chairman of the search committee, showed his excitement for the candidate. Patel said he wanted to find a candidate who showed the same enthusiasm for UF as its basketball stars.
“Dr. Ono wants to wear Florida on his jersey,” Patel said.
Staff in attendance responded to the remark with a standing ovation.
Follow Logan McBride on X @LoganDMcBride.
Logan McBride is a journalism junior and the Summer 2025 city commission reporter. In his free time, he enjoys watching TV shows or playing basketball at Southwest Rec. He is also a big football fan and will die for Dak Prescott.
