The appointment of Santa Ono, who formerly served as president of the University of Cincinnati and now serves as president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia, came about as a result of a unanimous decision taken by the institution’s board of regents. Additionally, Ono served as the senior vice provost and deputy provost at Emory University.
The biomedical researcher and former professor thanked the university for the honor in a statement. “The University of Michigan is recognized worldwide as being at the pinnacle of public higher education,” said Ono. “It is a singular honor to be chosen to lead such an extraordinary institution. I look forward to embracing the university community and supporting their education, scholarship, innovation and service. And I look forward to joining Michigan’s 600,000 alumni in cheering for the Wolverines.”
Sarah Hubbard, a member of the Board of Regents, said in a statement that the school board conducted a comprehensive search before selecting Ono. “I’m confident that the finalist seated before us today is the right choice for the University of Michigan,” Hubbard said.
Although Ono was born in Vancouver to Japanese immigrant parents, she spent much of her childhood in Pennsylvania and Maryland. In the past, he’s taught at Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and UCL.
Ono has been appointed University of Michigan President by the board of regents to replace Mark Schlissel, who was ousted by the board of regents owing to accusations of an improper connection with a coworker. It was revealed that Schlissel used his work email to interact with the employee in an “inappropriate” way throughout his five-year tenure that began in 2018, according to the inquiry conducted by the school.
