I previously thought that Ono might have been a bit of a coward, but he couldn't have done much to kill the good will more effectively. A few notes on some of the claims in a 🧵. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view... - ThreadSky

joshpasek.com • 4 days ago

I previously thought that Ono might have been a bit of a coward, but he couldn't have done much to kill the good will more effectively. A few notes on some of the claims in a 🧵.
https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/05/08/why-i-chose-university-florida-santa-ono-opinion

Comments

joshpasek.com•3 days ago

@byjoshmoody.bsky.social - happy to provide receipts if any of this helps your reporting

joshpasek.com•4 days ago

1/ To start, Ono yokes himself to Florida's vision of Higher Education hook line and sinker. A vision for which the state was sued and where courts determined that the law undermined students' first amendment rights. https://www.thefire.org/cases/novoa-v-diaz-florida-board-governors-florida-law-restricting-how-college-professors-students

joshpasek.com•4 days ago

2/ Next Ono goes on to attack DEI & brags about how he personally ended it. Again this claim either shows a record of disingenuity (he praised DEI 1.0 & started DEI 2.0 to much fanfare, https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-leaders-discuss-dei-1-0-impact-strategic-plans-future/) and in the email ending DEI, where he was careful not to personally take credit.

joshpasek.com•4 days ago

3/ After some more boilerplate, Ono discusses antisemitism, talking about how he has made it a priority. Yet for months he has refused to respond to a letter from 300+ Jewish faculty at the university and did not even once reach out to the chair of the Jewish studies department about the issue.

joshpasek.com•4 days ago

4/ So what should you make of Ono's departure? While ill will toward Ono had been growing with his unwillingness to stand up for the university (while the Regents were signing on to letters), views on Ono here are quickly moving to "good riddance".

joshpasek.com•4 days ago

5/5 It's crazy to think that someone who spent the beginning of his term praising Michigan's values could abandon them so wholeheartedly. It's not clear whether this means he is just out for himself or sticking his finger up to the political winds, but Florida should know what it is getting.