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CounterCurrent:
University of Florida Considers DEI Advocate for President
Higher ed’s leadership plays chameleon to adapt after DEI bans

CounterCurrent is the National Association of Scholars’ weekly newsletter, bringing you the most significant issues in academia and our responses to them.
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Category: Current Events, DEI, Higher Ed;
Reading Time: ~5 minutes
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** Featured Article: “Will Florida’s Leaders Green Light a DEI Radical?” ([link removed])
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With the Trump administration turning up the heat on higher education, you'd think colleges and universities would realize that reform—especially on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI)—is key to survival.

Rather than reform, many institutions are simply rebranding DEI while keeping the ideology intact. Worse, some leaders are playing chameleon—pretending to abandon their DEI convictions just to hold onto power under new Trump-era guidelines ([link removed]) that ban such practices in higher education.

Take Santa Ono, for example: the former University of Michigan president is set to become the next president of the University of Florida (UF)—pending approval ([link removed]) from the Florida Board of Governors today ([link removed]) .

National Association of Scholars President Peter Wood writes about Ono’s track record as a champion of DEI bureaucracy in an article ([link removed]) for RealClear Education. What exactly changed for Ono to jump the DEI ship? One could argue that much like other champions of DEI, Ono is being forced to rebrand to keep afloat in academia—and that this is no change of heart.

Ono’s history of furthering DEI ideology begins years ago. As president of the University of British Columbia (UBC), Ono appointed a President’s Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence in 2021. Ono claimed to be proud ([link removed]) of the task force’s strategic plan ([link removed]) , which concluded that “Whiteness is an obstacle to achieving inclusive excellence” and to limit such an “obstacle,” “a special program of preferential or limited hiring for Black faculty and staff” was created by the plan.

Wood also explains that once at the University of Michigan, Ono doubled down, expanding DEI’s reach on campus, even as many other colleges and universities were retreating from the ideology. Ono’s track record is troubling, and even more troubling is his 180 degree viewpoint flip ([link removed]) that came only after the current climate made DEI’s identity-based practices a liability. During the UF Board Meeting last week, Ono was interviewed as the finalist candidate for the position of university president. When Ono was asked about his track record, he gave subpar explanations. Wood writes ([link removed]) ,

One Florida trustee asked Ono whether he still holds his view (announced just two years ago) that racism is America’s ‘original sin’ and that systemic racism ‘is embedded in every corner of any institution.’ Mr. Ono’s evasive response was telling. He did not reject these views. Instead, he said, ‘I don’t think the university president should be saying that, and it’s not very helpful.’ Note the rhetorical sleight of hand. He did not disavow his belief that ‘white supremacy’ is lurking around every corner. He merely said he won’t say what he really thinks. This is an unserious response from an unserious person.

Ono penned a letter ([link removed]) in early May as to why he decided to pursue the position of president at the UF. In it, Ono makes the following claims,

I believe in Florida’s vision for higher education. I understand its priorities, and I support them. I will execute this vision with clarity, consistency and integrity … My alignment is rooted in principles—like the renewed emphasis on merit, the strengthening of civics and foundational learning, and the belief that our universities should prepare students not just for careers, but for informed citizenship in a free society.

Ono acts like he was an unwitting participant in Michigan's effort ([link removed]) to “fully institutionalize DEI.” Don’t believe your lying eyes!

To add to the intrigue, the UF eliminated all positions ([link removed]) associated with DEI in March of last year. It seems counter-intuitive for UF to potentially approve Ono when his troubling record is viewed in light of the university’s position on the matter.

Despite UF's DEI decisions, other colleges and universities are still attempting to hide or simply brush gross misconduct on all levels under the rug.

While Harvard is still openly defying the Trump administration’s order to shut down DEI on campus—and they have lost millions in federal funding ([link removed]) because of it—the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shut down ([link removed]) its DEI office at the end of last month. Has MIT severed its ties with DEI, or will the school shuffle its former DEI office to a new department with a properly euphemistic name? MIT president Sally Kornbluth wrote in a letter ([link removed]) that the university would “wind down” its Institute Community and Equity Office, and according to the same letter, the office’s “signature programs” will be carried on
([link removed]) by other departments on campus.

The University of Virginia (UVA) is facing a similar situation. For context, back in 2020, “UVA’s board endorsed radical DEI goals articulated by UVA’s Racial Equity Task Force,” which was fully endorsed by UVA President Jim Ryan and then-Provost Elizabeth Magill. Ryan is still president at UVA, and has been tasked by the UVA board with dismantling the very DEI practices he formerly endorsed.

As the only public university president, Ryan joined hundreds of private colleges and universities in solidarity, condemning the “unprecedented government overreach and political interference” in an April 22 letter ([link removed]) . Seven days later, UVA pledged—note that it was for the second time within a month span—to dismantle DEI on campus. Yet Ryan still maintains his position as UVA president.

In his article on UVA ([link removed]) , Scott Gerber asks the million dollar question, “Why do college administrators and board members keep their jobs after endorsing discrimination?”

Today, Florida’s Board of Governors has a chance to answer this question. Will they choose to harbor a national defender of discrimination, or restart the selection process and pick a champion of American principles, deserving of Florida’s students?

Until next week.

Read More: “Will DEI Return to the University of Florida? ([link removed]) "
Kali Jerrard
Communications Associate
National Association of Scholars
Read the Article ([link removed])
For more on the current events, DEI, and higher ed:
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June 02, 2025


** Not Every College Deserves to Be Saved ([link removed])
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Scott Gerber

The Trump administration’s efforts to reform higher education have been met with increasing resistance from the higher education establishment.

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May 29, 2025


** Student Loans and the Faint Hope of Reform ([link removed])
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Richard Vedder

The English language is not strong enough, nor are my skills in using it, to fully describe the unmitigated disaster that the federal program of financial assistance for college students has been, especially in the case of student loans.

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September 13, 2023


** Report: Diversity Statement, Then Dossier ([link removed])
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John D. Sailer

In this report, we seek to explain the phenomenon of DEI cluster hiring, demonstrate its widespread practice throughout academia, and highlight the dangers of the practice.


** About the NAS
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The National Association of Scholars, founded in 1987, emboldens reasoned scholarship and propels civil debate. We’re the leading organization of scholars and citizens committed to higher education as the catalyst of American freedom.

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