Santa Ono’s unanimous nomination by UF trustees overturned by Florida’s Board of Governors amid questions about his commitment to intellectual diversity.
—
ThedefeatofSantaOno,asthesolenomineetoleadtheUniversityofFlorida,isasuccessforFloridabutalsoforthehighereducationsystemacrossthecountry.
Foralongtime,ourbestuniversitiesfelllikedominoestothewokemindvirus.Schoolswhererigorandmeritweremeanttoflourishbecameinstitutionsofidentitypoliticsandfar-outleftism.Theymovedseamlesslyfromsafespacestolandacknowledgementstoanti-Israelencampments.Educationwasanafterthought.
OnowastheformerUniversityofMichiganpresident.ForMichigan,hewasconsidereda“moderate.”Amoderateinthiscasemeantsomeonewhopromised,inhisinaugurationspeechin2023,toimplement“DEI2.0”anddescribedracismas“oneofAmerica’soriginalsins.”
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAPRESIDENTIALPICKREJECTEDBYSTATEBOARDOFGOVERNORSOVERPASTDEISUPPORT
InthestrategydocumentforthatDEI2.0,theplanwasto“emphasizeDEIintermsofstra
