Despite not being up for re-election, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis isn’t going to tolerate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs from impacting his state.
According to new reports, DeSantis scored a significant victory against a huge DEI push when the Florida Board of Governors voted 10–6 to reject Santa Ono, the University of Florida’s presidential finalist and former Michigan president, citing his past ties to DEI initiatives.
Though UF’s Board of Trustees had unanimously endorsed Ono, the Governor-appointed Board of Governors opposed his nomination, signaling DeSantis’s indirect influence and dedication to rooting out “woke” ideology in higher education.
Ono faced scrutiny over his previous support for DEI, critical race theory, and handling of pro‑Palestinian demonstrations at the University of Michigan. Despite recent disclaimers and assurances—including a pledge to abolish centralized DEI offices—critics remained unconvinced.
Here’s a sample of Here’s a sampling of Ono’s background presented by Christoper Rufo, an education advisor to DeSantis who has led the charge against Ono.
Santa Ono is a supporter of virtually every left-wing social fad—"indigenous strategic plan," "climate action," "antiracism"—and believes that universities should devote public dollars toward advancing them. This would be a bad direction for University of Florida. pic.twitter.com/pr4gQHMeDm
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) May 20, 2025
Santa Ono has pronouns in his bio. He’s bought into every left-wing fad imaginable. pic.twitter.com/BOnGAswFTB
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) May 20, 2025
If you want to become president of a Florida public university, you should not:
• Put pronouns in your bio
• Do land acknowledgements
• Promote "two-spirit" genders
• Accuse America of "systemic racism"
• Operationalize "DEI 2.0"
• Oversee child sex-change procedures— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) June 3, 2025
High-profile Florida Republican figures like Sen. Rick Scott, Rep. Byron Donalds, and Donald Trump Jr. also actively campaigned against Ono’s confirmation.
“We have expectations about what we want in higher education. We don’t want it to be a fountain of activism and leftist indoctrination and if you go in that direction, then you will not have support to continue,” DeSantis said at a press conference last week.
“People have pointed out a lot of statements that he has made that are not exactly what we’re looking for in a state where woke goes to die and I cringe at some of these statements.”
The board’s rejection of Ono means that the university will have to start its presidential selection process over.