Santa Ono Officially Resigns From Michigan Faculty

Santa Ono has resigned from the faculty at the University of Michigan, MLive reported, following his departure as president to pursue the top job at the University of Florida, which he was ultimately denied.

“Dr. Santa Ono has resigned from University employment and will not be returning to a faculty position,” UM spokesperson Kay Jarvis told The Ann Arbor News/MLive.

Ono stepped down as Michigan’s president in early May, when he was named the sole finalist for the University of Florida presidency. Some Florida conservatives objected to his hire based on his previous support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, but as Ono explained in an op-ed in Inside Higher Ed, his thinking on the subject had evolved. He wrote that “the original intent of DEI—ensuring equal opportunity and fairness for every student … became something else—more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student success.” That’s why he eliminated DEI at Michigan, he wrote, and he intended to do the same at UF.

In late May, the UF Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve Ono’s hire. But he had one more hurdle to clear: the state’s Board of Governors, which on June 3 voted 10 to 6 to reject him.

In the fallout of his failed job change, Ono’s critics and supporters alike speculated about his future prospects, including whether he might return to UM’s tenured faculty ranks. His resignation appears to permanently close that door.