Donald Trump Jr. called on the University of Florida\u2019s board of governors to reject former University of Michigan president Santa Ono as UF\u2019s president following the school\u2019s board of trustees unanimous vote to hire Ono.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWTF! Have the decision makers at @UF lost their minds!???\u201d Trump Jr. exclaimed in a post on X on Wednesday. \u201cThis woke psycho might be a perfect fit for a Communist school in California, but how is he even being considered for this role in Florida?<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single member of the Florida Board of Governors should vote against him!!!\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The post is the latest example of conservatives pushing back Ono stepping into the university\u2019s top leadership role, citing his past stances on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which has become a target of the Trump administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ono wrote in a recent op-ed that his views on the issue have evolved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many, I supported what I believed to be the original intent of DEI \u2014 ensuring equal opportunity and fairness for every student,\u201d Ono wrote in an op-ed in Inside Higher Ed earlier this month. \u201cThat\u2019s something on which most everyone agrees. But over time, I saw how DEI became something else\u2014more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student success.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) called the university\u2019s board of trustees move to approve Ono \u201ca grave mistake,\u201d urging the board of governors to reject Ono.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, Dr. Ono gave it his best \u201ccollege try\u201d walking back his woke past, claiming he\u2019s now \u201cevolved.\u201d But I\u2019m not sold,\u201d Steube said in a post on X.<\/p>\n
This role is too important to gamble on convenient conversions. As the flagship university of a state that has led the way on truth and freedom, UF should be LEADING the fight against woke ideology, not coming around only when it\u2019s politically convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florida gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and the state\u2019s former governor Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have also spoken out against Ono leading UF.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, the state\u2019s Gov. Ron DeSantis (R ) has largely avoided stepping into the controversy surrounding Ono, saying earlier this month that he trusts the university\u2019s decision makers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI trust the people that were involved in that process. They were trustees that I\u2019ve appointed, that have performed exemplary for the state of Florida in those capacities,\u201d DeSantis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Chair of UF\u2019s board of trustees Mori Hosseini, who is a DeSantis ally, has backed Ono as the pick to lead the university.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSanta Ono is precisely the right person to be president of the University of Florida at this moment in its history,\u201d Hosseini said in a statement following the board\u2019s vote on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a remarkably accomplished scholar and a solidly proven academic leader, and his values align perfectly with ours here in the great state of Florida.\u00a0 Dr. Ono will ensure that merit and scholarship, not ideology, are the gold standards for success, and he will see to it that the University of Florida continues its ascent toward becoming America\u2019s premier public university, bar none.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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