can perhaps take it where we need to be in the current environment. And it wasn’t me.’”

“After the May 8 meeting and seeing how higher education is changing nationally, she said, ‘I thought, I am not the person to lead that change. I’ve done what I can do, and I’m happy with what I’ve done, and I’m leaving it in good shape. It’s time to give it to someone else who…

“When asked why she resigned, Saunders said, ‘Well, I think any president, if they tell you the truth, walks into the job thinking, this is what I can get done. And I always said the day I cannot move us forward, I will be the first to know, and I will take action.’”

via Outzen: “Did Saunders feel like she was ambushed? She said, ‘Yes. And I thought, ‘What in the world is going on here?’ Because I was not prepared to answer questions about events that happened six years before. And had I been asked beforehand, I would have been ready.’”

At the May 8 meeting, Saunders was confronted with a drag show — titled “Drag Me to Hell — that occured on campus under her watch in 2019. She was also pressed about an $800k NSF grant that referenced social justice

Here’s all the numbers and a link to the Ono’s contract: www.flbog.edu/wp-content/u...

Ono’s appointment must still be ratified by the state university system’s Board of Governors on Tuesday. If approved, his contract says he’ll take office Wednesday.

UF trustees unanimously approved Ono as president this week despite mounting right-wing backlash over his past support for DEI efforts. Since he was named as the sole finalist for the UF job, he has repeatedly denounced DEI.

It’s also worth noting that one-fourth of Ono’s tentative UF pay comes from a dual-role as chair of UF Health, the university’s hospital system. Neither Fuchs nor Sasse had that appointment in their contracts.

For context: In October, Ono agreed to a contract extension with @UMich that would have kept him in Ann Arbor until 2032 and raised his potential pay by 79%.

In February, UF’s board approved an annual compensation package of up to $3 million annually for the incoming prez. That same month, both Ono and the chair of the presidential search committee have said he was initially approached about the role — though the exact sequence of events remains unclear.

For comparison, former @UF Prez Ben Sasse’s five-year contract — inked in late 2022 — was worth up to $10m, or $3m a year. Interim prez Kent Fuchs’ agreement includes a base salary of $1m and a performance bonus of up to 15%. Unlike Sasse, Ono’s contract also includes tenure.

The move comes as Ono faces scrutiny from Florida GOP lawmakers — including the Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds — for his past support for DEI efforts. In March, Ono shuttered DEI initiatives at UMich, where he's currently president. t.co/PBRjk5Wjnd