Task number one for new U-M president? Rebuilding trust with faculty, students

David Jesse, Detroit Free Press
·5 min read

The last time the University of Michigan hired a new president, it went with a private school provost from a smallish Eastern school. This time, U-M's Board of Regents reached up into Canada to grab an experienced public school president with Midwestern experience.

Santa Ono was officially hired as U-M's 15th president Wednesday afternoon, becoming the first Asian and the first minority to be the full-time leader of the school. Ono comes to U-M from the University of British Columbia, where he has served as president since 2016. Before that, he was the president of the University of Cincinnati.

On paper, at least, Ono represents a change in tenor and personality from his predecessor, Mark Schlissel. Ono is known for his communication skills, connection to faculty and ties to students. He's extremely active on social media and often is found at university sporting events, including sitting with students.

(L to R) Dr. Santa Ono, named the new University of Michigan president by the U of M Board of Regents talks with regent Katherine White before the press conference at the Ruthven Building at the Ann Arbor campus on July 13, 2022.
(L to R) Dr. Santa Ono, named the new University of Michigan president by the U of M Board of Regents talks with regent Katherine White before the press conference at the Ruthven Building at the Ann Arbor campus on July 13, 2022.

That's a change from Schlissel, who by the end of his tenure had a reputation as aloof from both faculty, who passed a vote of no confidence in him, and students. Tensions between Schlissel and the board, based in part over what the board saw as bad communications, were also rising. Schlissel was fired in January after the board discovered he was in a relationship with a female subordinate. Former U-M President Mary Sue Coleman has been serving as interim president since then.

"A president must serve with honesty and integrity. Dr. Ono has that," said Regent Jordan Acker.

More: Sources: Santa Ono named University of Michigan president

More: University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel fired by board after investigation

A trust deficit

Schlissel's firing was the latest in a series of sexual misconduct scandals at U-M. Former Provost Martin Philbert sexually harassed women, including while he was provost, the second highest administrator at U-M. He was fired. Also surfacing were the sexual assaults Dr. Robert Anderson committed while serving as the athletics department doctor for decades. Anderson retired from the university in 2003 and died in 2008. U-M signed a $490 million settlement with survivors of his assaults. Philbert was fired as provost in March 2020. U-M signed a $9 million settlement with eight women suing the school over Philbert's behavior.

During listening sessions and in the responses of 1,000 people to an online survey, U-M's board and its search committee heard repeatedly that the next president needed to restore trust, Regent Denise Ilitch said Wednesday.

Ono — who said he listened to every one of the sessions during the interview process, read the reports of independent investigators in the Anderson and Philbert scandals and watched two years of board meetings, including the public comment periods — said restoring trust isn't automatic.

"Trust is something you earn," he said in a response to a Free Press question during a news conference to announce his hiring. That starts with listening to those who have been harmed and finding out the basis of the mistrust, he said.

Adele Brumfield, the vice provost for enrollment management greets Dr. Santa Ono, the new president of the University of Michigan who she hadn't seen since they met in the 2000s at Emory University where he was the senior vice provost and deputy to the provost at Emory University. The U of M Board of Regents voted Ono as the fifteenth president at the University of Michigan during a meeting at the Ruthven Building at the Ann Arbor campus on July 13, 2022.

Board members said they were acutely aware of the need for trust to be restored and for the university's next leader to be someone who prioritizes making connections with students and faculty.

"Everyone agreed that priority one was that trust had to be restored," Regent Michael Behm told the Free Press after Ono was hired. "That was top of mind."

Part of that process was making sure U-M's next president is a good communicator who wants to connect with students, Regent Sarah Hubbard said. Sheand her fellow regents say they believe they found that in Ono.

"We listened. We heard you. And I'm confident that the finalist seated before us today is the right choice," she said right before Ono was officially hired in a unanimous Board of Regents vote.

Known for his engagement on social media with students, Ono joked that his Twitter account had grown by 1,000 followers in the hour he was at Wednesday's  board meeting. He said he uses Twitter and Instagram to meet students where they are, adding that he hadn't quite figured out TikTok.

"My job is to serve and that means I need to be in touch with faculty and students," he said, adding that can even mean making sure a specific vending machine on Cincinnati's campus had Cheez-Its in it after he got student complaints in his direct messages. "I draw energy from them. My most important role is to be the chief connector."

During his introductory speech, Ono specifically referenced student mental health, noting that he too struggled with mental health challenges during his undergraduate days.

"I will make certain this university is always there for you, on good days and bad days so you can succeed and thrive," Ono said.

The 15th president

Ono's appointment as president is for five years. His formal contract is yet to be finalized, but his agreement with the university has him slated to make a base salary of $975,000, subject to annual increases at the Board of Regents' discretion, and $350,000 in deferred compensation starting after the first year. He also will receive regular university benefits and supplemental contributions to a retirement plan, housing in the President's House, an expense allowance, and use of an automobile and a driver.

Ono starts officially Oct. 13, but said he will be back and forth between UBC and U-M in the interim. He said Coleman already has a binder several inches thick filled with notes and memos for him to read about the issues facing U-M.

Ono, 59, is a vision researcher whose work focuses on the immune system and eye disease.

Dr. Santa Ono, the new president of the University of Michigan laughs at a joke regent Mark Bernstein told during a U of M Board of Regents meeting at the Ruthven Building at the Ann Arbor campus on July 13, 2022.
Dr. Santa Ono, the new president of the University of Michigan laughs at a joke regent Mark Bernstein told during a U of M Board of Regents meeting at the Ruthven Building at the Ann Arbor campus on July 13, 2022.

He is the leader of the University Climate Change Coalition, a network that connects 23 of the world's leading research universities and university systems committed to accelerating climate action.

Ono was born in Vancouver and grew up in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and earned a bachelor's degree in biological science at the University of Chicago and a doctorate in experimental medicine from McGill University in Montreal.

He has taught at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and University College London. While at the University of Cincinnati, he also served as a professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj. Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: New U-M president selected for ability to build trust, communicate