University of Florida President Santa Santa earns nearly $3 million a year, according to a copy of the contract proposal.
Ono proposed a base salary of $1.5 million for the presidency, an increase from the $1.3 million he earned at the University of Michigan, and then quit his job in Florida. He can also earn 20% annual performance bonuses, an increase of 3% per year.
Additionally, the proposal includes the role of Ono of UF Health, who will serve as chairman of the board and serve as chief investigator, overseeing a lab that will earn $500,000 a year. The position also receives 3% annual salary, performance and retention bonuses.
If Ono is approved by the board, other elements of the contract, such as benefits and deferred compensation, will total value it exceeds $3 million per year, and the committee convenes a special meeting for Tuesday’s decision.
Ono, the ophthalmologist who has been trained, will also serve as a tenured teacher at UF Medical School.
The contract includes some unusual provisions. It requires Ono to work with the Florida Department of Efficiency to “evaluate and reduce administrative overhead costs to ensure the success of university resources targeting teaching, research and student, while maintaining taxpayer and donor investment.” In addition, he will be prohibited from spending “any public or private money” on “DEI or political or social activism.”
Although the University of Florida’s board of directors unanimously approved Ono as chairman earlier this week, he faced opposition from conservative critics, backed by past support, equity and inclusion efforts. Ono spent most of his public interviews on the board this week, illuminating how he changed his mind about Dei. He believes that despite his initial support for DEI, he now sees the moves as expensive, divisive and counterproductive.
The campaign against activist Chris Rufo was a movement that circulated many videos on social media before the UF board meeting. He distributed many videos on social media before the UF board meeting, which showed that Anno supported Dei and opposed systemic racism, which Rufo believed was unqualified because it contradicted the goal of Republican Governor Ron Desantis, who distributed many videos on social media.
Other conservative figures have since raised additional criticisms on ONO, including state officials and Donald Trump Jr. Trump Jr. also encouraged the Florida State Commission to vote against confirming Ono.
Although DeSantis has considerable influence on the college recruitment decision, he told local media that Ono’s past comments about Dei have made him “cross” but he has not joined the conservative chorus, calling for Ono to be blocked and expressed confidence in the search.
