Santa Ono

Santa Jeremy Ono (; born November 23, 1962) is a Canadian-born American immunologist. He served in a variety of roles, including as the 15th president of the University of Michigan from October 2022 to May 2025, as the 15th president of the University of British Columbia from 2016 to 2022, and as the 28th president of the University of Cincinnati from 2012 to 2016. Ono was selected to serve as the president of the University of Florida in May 2025, but was later rejected by the Florida Board of Governors for the position.

Early life and education

Born in 1962, Santa Ono is the son of mathematician Takashi Ono, who immigrated to the United States from Japan in the late 1950s. Ono was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where his father worked as an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of British Columbia from 1961 to 1964. As a result, Ono acquired United States citizenship through his parents and Canadian citizenship through his place of birth.

Ono was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Towson, Maryland, where his father worked as a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania from 1964 to 1969 and at Johns Hopkins University from 1969 to 2011, respectively. His older brother is Momoro Ono and his younger brother is Ken Ono.

Ono received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in biological sciences from the University of Chicago in 1984 and a Doctor of Philosophy in experimental medicine from McGill University in Canada in 1991.

Career

Academic career

Ono's research reported that immune-related genes are more active in insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, which could affect diabetes risk. His lab showed that specific DNA elements and transcription factors are key in regulating these immune genes. The lab also identified potential biomarkers for tracking age-related macular degeneration and studied how HMGA protein mutations could lead to fat tumors and obesity in mice.

While at University College London, Ono served as associate dean of students and as a member of the University College London Council. From 2006 to 2010, Ono served as senior vice provost for undergraduate education and academic affairs at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

University of Cincinnati

In June 2010, Ono was named senior vice president for academic affairs and university provost at the University of Cincinnati, with oversight of budgets, personnel, and planning.

In 2012, Ono was named the 28th president of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, becoming the first Asian-American president of that university. U Square at the Loop, a $78 million mixed use development, was opened during his presidency.

In January 2015, ''Inside Higher Education'' named Ono as "the nation's most notable college president for 2015".

University of British Columbia

On June 15, 2016, Ono was named the 15th president and vice chancellor of the University of British Columbia in Canada, effective August 15. He was re-appointed for a second five-year term on August 11, 2020.

In February 2017, Ono reinstated John Furlong as keynote speaker for a university fundraiser despite allegations of Furlong's abuse of Indigenous children during his time as a teacher in a remote community. Furlong's participation sparked protests from UBC students and activists, including some of his alleged victims. This incident led to the resignation of the only Indigenous member of UBC's Sexual Assault Policy Committee. Ono's decision to reinvite Furlong followed reported pressure from wealthy donors.

In July 2019, Amazon announced plans to establish Canada's first "Cloud Innovation Centre" at UBC. The project proceeded without community consultation. Contract details were withheld until a student group obtained them through a freedom of information request. The documents showed that the Ono administration followed Amazon's directive to keep $3 million in funding confidential.

In October 2019, at least six students were given medical attention for suspected drugging incidents at a fraternity party. Following this, a female professor faced online abuse after criticizing the fraternities involvement in Remembrance Day ceremonies. However, the university administration, under the Ono presidency, responded and emphasized freedom of expression rather than condemning the harassment against the professor, affirming its "commitment to freedom of expression and academic freedom".

During Ono's tenure, the university hosted multiple controversial speakers promoting white supremacist, Islamophobic, and neo-Nazi movements, often invited by student groups with extreme views. Ono inaccurately claimed equal community support for an anti-trans speaker event, leading to the Vancouver Pride Society's decision in July 2019 to ban UBC's participation in the Vancouver Pride Parade.

University of Michigan

On July 13, 2022, Ono was named as the 15th president of the University of Michigan, with his term beginning on October 13, 2022. He became the first Japanese American to lead the university. In October 2023, Ono received a 4% raise in base salary, increasing it from US$975,000 to US$1,014,000 annually.

Under the Ono presidency, the university conducted a renovation of the President's House, the official residence of the university president, from 2022 to 2023 at a cost of $11.5 million.

During Ono's March 2023 address, he stated that DEI would be a major focus of his presidency. In January 2024, the university was reported to have 241 employees in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices, with payroll costs totaling more than $30 million annually. On March 27, 2025, citing the Trump administration's executive order, Ono reversed his previous DEI policies and shut down the university's DEI programs and offices.

On October 17, 2024, the university's Board of Regents voted unanimously to extend Ono's contract by an additional eight years, through October 1, 2032. The extension also increased Ono's base salary to US$1.3 million per year, a 33% rise since he started his tenure two years before.

On January 10, 2025, Ono shut down the University of Michigan's two-decade-long partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China since 2005, terminating the UM–SJTU Joint Institute as well as the dual-degree and study-abroad programs.

On May 4, 2025, the day after giving a speech as the president on the University of Michigan's spring commencement, Ono announced through a campus email that he became the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of Florida and decided to leave Michigan. His tenure as president at the University of Michigan was the shortest of all past presidents. On May 5, Rebekah Modrak, chair of the university's Faculty Senate, said that many professors had complained that Ono's campus emails seemed to have been written by ChatGPT. The University of Michigan Board of Regents appointed Domenico Grasso, the then-chancellor of the University of Michigan–Dearborn, as the university's interim president on May 8, 2025, effectively removing Ono from the office.

Response to labor union protest

On March 7, 2023, the Graduate Employees' Organization 3550, a labor union representing graduate student instructors at the university, disrupted the ceremonial procession during Ono's inauguration. On March 29, the majority of GEO 3550 members went on strike, demanding a salary increase from $24,000 to $38,000. The university unsuccessfully sought an injunction to suspend the strike.

On April 20, GEO members confronted Ono at a restaurant in Ann Arbor and blocked his car from leaving. Two protesters were arrested. GEO later accused the university of invented false grades for students in classes taught by striking GEO members. The Higher Learning Commission investigated and later dismissed those accusations. As the strike extended into the spring, Ono reduced his attendance at campus events and his social media activity. The strike ended on August 25, 2023, when the university and GEO reached an agreement.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

On October 10, 2023, Santa Ono condemned Hamas terrorists through a university statement. On October 13 afternoon, around 300 University of Michigan students and community members protested outside the President's House, objecting to Ono's statement and criticizing Ono's views on Palestinian people, casualties, and forced displacement. Ono responded with an additional statement to the university community on the same day, reaffirming his stance. In November, 40 pro-Palestinian students were arrested during a sit-in demonstration outside Ono's office. In December, Ono canceled the central student government's voting on two resolutions related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

On April 30, 2024, United States Representative Virginia Foxx called Santa Ono to a congressional hearing scheduled for May 23 on "antisemitic college chaos". On May 21, Ono cited fire safety reasons and sent police to clear the pro-Palestinian encampment on The Diag in front of the Hatcher Graduate Library. The encampment was first set up on April 22 to protest for divestment from Israel. Four protesters were arrested. Afterward, the United States House Committee on Education and Workforce changed Ono's congressional testimony format to transcribed interviews instead of having him appear before the full congressional committee as initially expected.

University of Florida

On May 4, 2025, while serving as the 15th president of the University of Michigan, Ono became the solo finalist for the presidency post at the University of Florida. Ono was removed from the presidency of the University of Michigan on May 8. On May 27, the University of Florida Board of Trustees voted unanimously to select Ono as the incoming 14th president of the University of Florida, pending ratification from the Florida Board of Governors (the governing body of the State University System of Florida).

On June 3, 2025, Ono's hire was rejected by the Florida Board of Governors in a 10–6 vote. This decision came after a three hour long meeting between the Board and Ono, which included discussions on Ono's support of "race-based hiring, holistic admissions, DEI and climate activism." His candidacy had been questioned by national conservatives including Christopher Rufo and Donald Trump Jr., the latter of whom referred to Ono as a "woke psycho" who "might be a perfect fit for a Communist school in California". While it was reported that many of the members of the board disagreed with each other over Ono's beliefs in these and other areas, some were "praising no's..shift towards conservative values."

Social engagement

On January 23, 2017, Ono was appointed chief advisor of the British Columbia Innovation Network and a member of the British Columbia Technology Council. Ono served on the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society, as well as on the Medical Advisory Board and College of Experts of the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom. He has been a member of the Faculty of 1000 since 2003.Ono received an honorary doctorate degree from Chiba University in Japan in 2016 and an honorary doctor of divinity from the Vancouver School of Theology of the University of British Columbia in 2020. In 2017, he received a Professional Achievement Award from the University of Chicago Alumni Association. Ono was elected as a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2017. He was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022.

Personal life

Santa Ono was named after Santaro, a Japanese folk story character. Ono, a practicing Anglican, is a member of the Anglican Communion Science Commission and served as a lay Eucharistic minister.

Ono met Gwendolyn "Wendy" Yip at McGill University in 1985; Yip was in her undergraduate senior year when Ono came to the university to complete his PhD work. The pair married in 1989 and have two daughters together.

Wendy Yip received a Bachelor of Science with a major in immunology from McGill University in 1988 and a Juris Doctor from Boston University in 1991. Her father is Gar Lam Yip (), a Chinese-Canadian professor of electrical and computer engineering at McGill University, and her mother is Alice Chan-Yip (), a Chinese-Canadian pediatrician based in Montreal and former board member with the Montreal Chinese Hospital.

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ono, Santa J.
20th-century American scientists
21st-century American scientists
20th-century Canadian scientists
21st-century Canadian scientists
American immunologists
Canadian immunologists
American scientists of Asian descent
Canadian scientists of Asian descent
American academics of Japanese descent
Canadian people of Japanese descent
Canadian Anglicans
Canadian university and college chief executives
Presidents of the University of British Columbia
Presidents of the University of Cincinnati
Harvard University alumni
Academic staff of the University of British Columbia
Academics of University College London
Harvard University faculty
Johns Hopkins University faculty
GSK plc people
McGill University alumni
People from Towson, Maryland
Scientists from Baltimore
Scientists from Philadelphia
Scientists from Vancouver
Towson High School alumni
University of Chicago alumni
Fellows of the Royal Society of Medicine
Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Helen Hay Whitney Foundation fellows
Phi Delta Theta members
1962 births
Living people
Members of the National Academy of Medicine