Pro-Palestinian demonstrators adjust a photo of the University of Michigan President Santa Ono as people gather for a mock trial against the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents on the university’s campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on April 21, 2025. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

(JTA) — Florida officials have rejected the University of Florida board’s choice to helm the university, citing his record at the University of Michigan where his tenure included fierce pro-Palestinian protests.

Santa Ono drew criticism from both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel camps in Michigan over his handling of the protests. Pro-Palestinian activists accused him of being heavy-handed when he ordered their encampment cleared and students arrested in the spring of 2024. Pro-Israel voices, meanwhile, said he had been too lenient in allowing the encampment to last as long as it did.

“This is the right decision for UF,” Florida Sen. Rick Scott said on X after the 10-6 vote Tuesday by the Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s public university system, to reject Ono’s candidacy. “UF’s students, faculty and staff deserve a president who will stand for Florida values and against antisemitism.”

Ono also faced scrutiny over his approach to campus diversity. Under his leadership, Michigan had a robust Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program — a bugbear for Republicans — until announcing in March that it would be dismantled.

In recent months, Ono sought to distance himself from the controversies of his tenure. He spoke at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never is Now summit in New York City in March, where the pro-Israel podcaster Dan Senor said his administration “seems to have gotten things under control.” But the Florida officials were not convinced.

“The public record completely contradicted what the nominee was telling us,” Paul Renner, a former speaker of the Florida House and vociferous DEI critic who voted against Ono on the Board of Governors, told The New York Times.

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