UF presidential search is getting underway (U Michigan prez is the sole candidate)

I thought Sasse was a done deal no matter what because of DeSantis.

 

Ask him not to hire another politician. I get the rationale behind it, but 95+% of the folks in politics are greedy narcissists. Hire somebody who knows what they're doing. I don't even care if they're right leaning. Just hire somebody who is f'ing qualified.

 

Hopefully the search doesn’t move at the speed of academia

 

Interesting addition of Doug Band to the search committee. Major influential figure in government and finance with deep ties to the Clinton Foundation and international philanthropy.

 

Woah, sounds like a home run.

 

I am not sure there is a perfect policy for dealing with protests, but I just hope whatever stance UF ends up taking that it is not viewpoint-based, where the object of the protest influences the severity of the response.

 

Per Grok
Dr. Santa Ono’s political leanings appear to be complex and not explicitly partisan. His actions suggest a pragmatic, institution-focused approach, with elements that could be interpreted as centrist or moderately conservative (e.g., free speech emphasis, handling of protests, corporate partnerships) alongside progressive commitments (e.g., diversity, climate change, mental health). Without direct statements on political affiliation, any assessment remains speculative and context-dependent.

 

Hope he values sports

 

Probably better than we could have hoped for from the folks that thought "Hey, Ben Sasse and his entire Senate staff at wildly inflated salaries would be a great idea." Not really a profile in courage, but he is an experienced administrator and successful academic. Hopefully, the fact that he is an academic means that he will hire solid academic deans for the many, many openings at that level and gets things moving on that front again.

 

Yeah, my friend that are U of M grads say it's a huge loss from a sports perspective. He sounds like a great fit.

 

Successful academic, likes sports and not a fan of BS protests.

Sounds like a home run hire to me.

 

Absolute home run. Hope it works out as well as it looks like it should on paper.

 

I'm relieved. Sounds like an excellent hire.

 

Why leave UM?

 

+1?

 

My best guess is that he's starting to feel some heat after some major goofs in a state where the politics are quite different. Hard to please both the federal government and his state government right now. So when UF offered him a huge raise and a political environment that'll put a lot less pressure on him, it wasn't a hard choice imo.

He's done some things I don't particularly like, but that was going to be true of any person UF would hire at this point in time. At least he's qualified for the job, a serious academic, and not a Republican politician. Best we could hope for.

 

So now it’s republicans turn?