University of Florida presidential pick rejected by state Board of Governors over past DEI support

The Florida Board of Governors rejected a candidate's bid to pb the University of Florida implicit his past statements and actions heading different large universities.

A spokesperson for the State University System of Florida confirmed with Fox News Digital that the committee voted 10 to 6 against the confirmation of Dr. Santa Ono arsenic president of the University of Florida. 

The Board of Governors serves arsenic the governing assemblage for the state’s 12 nationalist universities. 

Ono, an immunologist, was the lone finalist that the UF Board of Trustees considered. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Ono pledged to extremity diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) successful his opening statement earlier his unanimous confirmation ballot past month.

"I enactment afloat the determination to extremity DEI," Ono said, adding, "I’m present to guarantee DEI ne'er returns to the University of Florida. Science volition lead, not ideology. I privation to travel to Florida, not to dilatory reform, but to accelerate it. Public universities beryllium to educate, not indoctrinate."

The blocking of Dr. Santa Ono’s bid for president of UF is the archetypal clip the Board of Governors rejected a confirmation since the instauration was established 20 years ago. (Getty Images)

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However, contempt Ono's efforts to region himself from DEI, the starring campaigner for the presumption faced pugnacious questioning from the Board implicit his past leadership. Ono was grilled astir his views connected antisemitism, past enactment of DEI programs, and the rampant anti-Israel demonstrations that occurred during his astir 3 years arsenic president of the University of Michigan.

Chris Rufo, the blimpish reformer from the Manhattan Institute and trustee astatine the New College of Florida, was 1 of Ono's large critics.

A spokesperson for the State University System of Florida confirmed the committee voted 10 to 6 against the confirmation of Dr. Santa Ono arsenic president. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)  (Getty Images)

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Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., praised the Board of Governors' determination to artifact Ono's confirmation. Steube penned a missive calling for the Board to cull Ono’s bid successful bid for the officials to "find a suitable replacement who genuinely represents Florida values." 

Another professional of Ono was Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., citing a "concerning grounds from his clip astatine the University of Michigan, wherever helium allowed an illegal, pro-terrorist encampment to instrumentality implicit the field for astir a month, putting Jewish students successful information and failing to uphold adjacent the astir basal standards of leadership."

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

The Board of Governor's determination came amid the propulsion by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to reshape acquisition successful the Sunshine State by combating woke ideology.

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