Gabrielle Russon
Three members of Florida’s congressional delegation are calling for the University of Florida to be more transparent in hiring its next President.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds and Greg Steube sent a joint letter to UF Trustees after the hiring of Santa Ono fell apart.
“As the University of Florida embarks on its third presidential search in less than three years, we urge the Board to have a completely open and transparent search process,” the lawmakers wrote.
“We firmly believe that if the University of Florida had an open and transparent search and interview process, the concerns we all expressed, along with those that were brought up by the public and the Board of Governors, would have been dealt with long before this month’s vote.”
UF declined to comment for this story.
UF Trustees unanimously approved Ono’s hiring. But in a stunning move, the State University System Board of Governors rejected their pick amid growing criticism from conservatives, including the three leaders who sent the letter.
The three members of Congress, all Republican, took aim at a 2022 law passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature that makes only the top presidential finalists public. All the other applications are confidential. In UF’s last search, Ono emerged as the lone finalist, so it was unclear who else had applied for the job.
“While the new law that took effect in 2022 has merits, it seems that it is being abused by creating an unfair system that allows much of the selection process to be shielded from the public,” the letter said.
“The law is being interpreted in such a way that it has created a system where only one candidate is often sent to our university boards to consider. We urge UF to change course in the upcoming search, and commit to multiple candidates being interviewed by the Board.”
The Florida House passed a bill this year to make all candidates public, but the measure died in the Senate.
“It is our hope the Florida Legislature reviews how this law has been implemented and considers changes next year,” Scott, Donalds and Steube wrote.
The letter is also calling on UF to post “all vetting materials and application materials” online for the public to read before candidates are interviewed.
The lawmakers brought up Ono’s proposed $3 million contract and the lack of public input.
“Many of our state’s university presidents are awarded salary packages over $1 million, and the draft contract for Dr. Santa Ono was valued around $3 million. Students, their families, and Florida taxpayers that help fund these compensation packages should have the opportunity to have a role in the selection process,” the letter continued.
The three leaders reiterated why they were against the former University of Michigan President coming to Florida’s flagship university in Gainesville.
“He failed to quickly and proactively stand up for Jewish students at the University of Michigan,” they wrote.
“UF has set a gold standard for fighting antisemitism and protecting Jewish students, and its leadership must follow suit. Ono allowing an illegal, pro-terrorist encampment to take over the University of Michigan campus for nearly a month, putting Jewish students in danger and failing to uphold even the most basic standards of leadership was a complete disqualifier to us.”
They also took issue with what they called his support of “divisive and radical” diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
