Dr. Santa J. Ono was selected to be the next president of the University of Florida as a group of Republicans has expressed disdain in regard to his candidacy.

Dr. Santa Ono also will be paid as a full professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at UF's College of Medicine.

Over two hours, Ono said he backed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ vision for the state’s flagship public university and that he opposed diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives. He voiced his support of Jewish students and held positive views of post-tenure review.