That plan explicitly called for “preferential” race-based hiring of faculty, the establishment of a “Black student application program” for prospective medical students, a “zero-tolerance policy” for faculty and staff who resisted DEI re-education, and mandatory training for students and faculty on “colonialism, anti-racism, decolonization and intersectionality.” This isn’t education—it’s indoctrination.
Mr. Ono also proselytized for DEI ideology with the campus community, declaring in 2020 that it was time to “dismantle the tools of oppression and white supremacy that remain prevalent and entrenched in our everyday systems.” He later warned that you “cannot take your foot off the pedal” in eliminating “systemic racism,” which he has said “is embedded in every corner of any institution.”
In October 2022, Mr. Ono moved to Michigan, making clear in his March 2023 inaugural address that DEI would be a major focus of his presidency. He unveiled a wide-ranging new initiative focused on embedding what he called “DEI 2.0” into every aspect of campus life. The stated goal: “fully institutionalize DEI” and shift “who has power, influence, and voice in priorities and decision-making.” In 2024, the New York Times reported that under his leadership Michigan “doubled down” on DEI—even as many universities were already retreating from it.
Now that Florida’s multimillion-dollar compensation package is on the table, Mr. Ono claims he favored DEI only because he believed its original intent was “ensuring equal opportunity and fairness.” This is patently absurd. As the leader of two universities, Mr. Ono championed DEI regimes that explicitly sought to indoctrinate students, punish thoughtcrime and hire based on race.
Mr. Ono’s radicalism stretched beyond DEI. He has flagrantly and repeatedly turned his universities into ideological battering rams using the favored tool of all campus leftwing activists: divestment. He proudly led the University of British Columbia in a full divestment from oil, gas and related industries. In his 2023 inaugural address at Michigan, he called on the university to address “above all” the “existential challenge of our time”—climate change.
