Message from the Regents: President Santa J. Ono
Dear students, faculty and staff,
Earlier today, President Santa J. Ono announced that he has been selected as the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of Florida and, once the appointment is approved by their Board of Governors, he will assume that role and leave the University of Michigan.
We write today to acknowledge President Ono’s leadership and thank him for his significant contributions. Over the course of his tenure, he has encouraged all of us to dream boldly, to fearlessly explore ideas, to push the boundaries of knowledge and to be daring in our plans so that we could achieve more than we ever thought was possible.
President Ono’s leadership is reflected in numerous achievements – the launch of Vision 2034, Campus Plan 2050 and the Look to Michigan campaign, the establishment of new partnerships with OpenAI and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the founding of the University of Michigan Center for Innovation in Detroit, the expansion of the Go Blue Guarantee and Wolverine Pathways programs and the initiation of many more important efforts such as the Amplify Research initiative, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute and the Institute for Civil Discourse.
These successes leave a legacy of which all of us – especially President Ono – can be proud. The Board of Regents is unified in our commitment to maintaining steady leadership, and President Ono has agreed to remain with the university as long as needed to establish an interim president. We are working thoughtfully and expeditiously as we execute our transition plan and we will be sharing more details in the near future.
Thank you for your partnership, as we move forward, focused on our mission to improve the lives of the people of Michigan, our nation and the world.
Sincerely,
The Regents of the University of Michigan