University of Florida names sole finalist in presidential search

Ian Hodgson and Divya Kumar, Tampa Bay Times on May 4, 2025

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The University of Florida announced a sole finalist to be its next president: Santa J. Ono, president of the University of Michigan.

The announcement follows a search that began after former President Ben Sasse resigned last July, citing his wife’s health. After his resignation, reports of a surge in spending on administrative hires and consultant reports surfaced as the university, which had recently broken into the Top 5 ranks among public universities, took a dip.

The search committee and board of trustees doubled down on their resolve that the next candidate would be someone who could lead the university in academic stature.

In a statement, Kent Fuchs, the former UF president who was tapped to serve as interim following Sasse’s departure, called Ono “a dream candidate.”

Ono’s academic background comes as a departure from several recent Florida presidential picks, who have largely held connections to Tallahassee politics.

Ono, who has served as the president of the University of Michigan since 2022, has also served as vice chancellor of the University of British Columbia, president of the University of Cincinnati, and senior vice provost at Emory University. He’s also been a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Harvard University and the University College London.

In announcing Ono as the finalist, UF cited his “pioneering” work on eye disease and the immune system.

He’s also a member of the National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Inventors, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

He is also part of the American Council on Education and the Council on Competitiveness, and chairs the Council of Presidents of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the University of Michigan Health Board, and Fulbright Canada.

Rahul Patel, chairperson of UF’s presidential search committee, said in statement that the committee was confident in their unanimous selection of Ono as the right fit.

“Throughout an extensive and thorough process, we sought a leader who could match UF’s extraordinary momentum, understand its role as the flagship university of one of the most dynamic states in the country, and inspire our community to reach even greater heights,” he said.

Board of Governors member Alan Levine said in an interview that he didn’t want to get ahead of the process that will include Ono meeting with students, faculty, staff and the full Board of Trustees on Tuesday, but thought the caliber of the candidate spoke to how UF was perceived.

“This guys is super qualified,” he said. “His credentials are unassailable.”

Though UF came under fire for selecting one sole finalist during the Sasse search from student protesters — not to mention the sponsor of the bill that allowed applicants to remain confidential until they are named finalists — Levine said he understood why the university may have chosen to name only one again.

“They attract a lot of highly qualified competent candidates,” he said. “Many don’t want to go forward if they aren’t going to be president.”

UF appears poised to break a record for presidential pay, as it did in 2022 when the school offered Sasse a $1 million salary. Ono’s base pay at Michigan was recently increased to $1.3 million, more than any Florida public university president currently makes.

Levine praised the search committee for its selection, citing the University of Michigan’s rating as the third-ranked public university by U.S. News and World Report.

“For the University of Florida to attract a president with a rank higher than UF, there’s some really good reasons,” he said.

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Ian Hodgson is an education reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, working in partnership with Open Campus.