Florida—long considered a last bastion of freedom—may soon face a major test of its sovereignty and scientific integrity. A tidal wave of concern is surging through academic, conservative and liberty-minded communities in the wake of news that Santa Ono, current president of the University of Michigan and a self-proclaimed climate change evangelist, is a frontrunner for the presidency of the University of Florida (UF).
As reported in a recent article by Diverse Education:
The University of Florida Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday of last week to select Dr. Santa J. Ono as the university's 14th president, despite intense scrutiny from conservative activists and Republican lawmakers who questioned his commitment to Florida's higher education reforms.
Rep. Greg Steube, a Republican UF alumnus, wrote to the university board expressing "grave concerns" about Ono's "woke politics" and alleged "discriminatorily charged comments." Sen. Rick Scott called for an investigation into the concerns raised by Steube.Following Tuesday's vote, Steube urged the Board of Governors to reject Ono's confirmation, posting on social media that the UF board had taken a "step in the wrong direction" and expressing skepticism about Ono's efforts at "walking back his woke past."
Ono recently announced his resignation from the University of Michigan, effective July 1st, citing vague “personal and family reasons.” But make no mistake: this move is strategic. And if Florida’s flagship university installs Ono as its next president, it will be nothing short of a Trojan Horse for UN-style climate change authoritarianism and woke DEI policies.
Let’s break this down further.
Who Is Santa Ono?
Ono isn’t just an academic bureaucrat—he’s a globalist ideologue. Ono’s previous public statements and policies supported climate agendas that frequently rely on politicized science, corporate influence, and unelected power structures, often sidelining legitimate debate or emerging independent research. As the University of Michigan president, he championed climate change as the university’s central priority, launching initiatives that would make Klaus Schwab blush. He pushed the University of Michigan toward full "carbon neutrality" and deeply embedded “sustainability” into every aspect of campus operations, aligning with the Great Reset’s climate technocracy.
“There is no more important work to be done in the world,” Ono declared in 2022, referring to climate change.
Let that sink in.
Not science.
Not education.
Not liberty, nor the Constitution.
But the religion of climate catastrophism.
Climate Indoctrination in Academia
Under Ono’s leadership, University of Michigan became a beacon for climate-based academic capture. As highlighted by Great Lakes Now, Ono made climate his “top priority,” embedding it across research departments, recruiting staff aligned with his “sustainability” agenda, and prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as the engine behind environmental action.
Ono isn’t merely an administrator. He’s an activist operating within academia.
He promoted the Global CO₂ Initiative, backed controversial carbon removal schemes (often funded by Big Tech and defense contractors), and advocated for geoengineering experimentation—technologies that threaten our very biosphere and human health.
The question Florida must now ask is: Do we want our leading university run by someone who promotes the very climate manipulation Florida just moved to ban?
SB 56: Florida’s Bold Move Against Geoengineering
In late April, the Florida legislature made history with the passage of SB 56/HB 477 courageously carried by Senator Ileana Garcia and Representative Kevin Steele, criminalizing atmospheric aerosol injection and weather modification programs tied to geoengineering—a landmark victory for health freedom advocates and environmental realists.
This was landmark legislation as it not only prohibits this activity in the state of Florida, it also criminalizes it. The law makes geoengineering and weather modification a felony crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison and $100,000 in fines per incident.
This law represents a turning point, rejecting the pseudoscientific "climate emergency" narrative used to justify experiments on our sky, soil, and bodies.
Florida has drawn a bright line in the sky:
It will not allow corporate interests, climate interventionists, or covert operations to tamper with its atmosphere or pollute its environment.
And now, they want to parachute in a man who directly opposes that progress as the President of the University of Florida?
Isn’t Florida Where Woke Goes to Die?
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently asked whether Ono is “anti-woke enough” to lead the University of Florida, given the DeSantis administration’s pushback against DEI extremism and cultural Marxism in higher ed.
The answer is clear.
Ono has been a champion of DEI as a co-driver of his climate agenda. He’s played the game well—smiling, placating, but never changing course. Behind the PR gloss is a man with a history of pushing his “woke” worldview that can easily taint the minds of Florida’s students. Would Ono push the University of Florida to institute illegal DEI policies, as observed at other academic institutions that are now being challenged? Ono recently declared that his worldview has changed, as witnessed in last week’s vote at the University of Florida:
As shared by Real Clear Education: “On Tuesday, at the University of Florida, Mr. Ono tried to explain away this troubling record, telling the trustees, “I’m an immunologist. I’m not an activist, I’m not somebody who works in social justice… And to be honest, like anyone, when you’re in a field that’s not your own, it takes time to understand what is really going on, you know?”
This absurd explanation reveals much about both Mr. Ono and his assessment of the intellect of Florida’s leaders. Tens of millions of Americans, and thousands of academics, knew from the start that the policies of neo-racism and indoctrination championed by activist administrators like Mr. Ono were both foolish and unjust. They did not need to work in the “field” of “social justice” to reach such commonsense conclusions. But on Tuesday, Mr. Ono effectively told the Florida board that it took him nine years of trial and error to realize universities should treat everyone equally. They swallowed this explanation whole. Ono’s lack of principles is outrageous—and disqualifying”.
Florida doesn’t need that.
Florida needs principled leaders who have proven history and track record demonstrating they honor freedom, health sovereignty, and truth.
What’s at Stake?
The University of Florida is not just another campus. It’s a beacon of biomedical and agricultural research, a place where the direction of science, public health, and state policy intersect.
If Ono takes the reins, we may be confronted with:
Increased climate-based funding from globalist foundations that are in direct opposition to the landmark efforts with the recent passage of SB 56 / HB 477 which prohibits and criminalizes geoengineering and weather modification activities in the state of Florida.
Expanded research in geoengineering and carbon capture “solutions” that do far more harm than good.
DEI ideology dressed up as “sustainability science.”
Propaganda and more “woke” policies pushed upon our students, absent of critical thinking and full transparency.
A Call to Action
The Global Wellness Forum calls on the University of Florida’s Board of Governors to vet this candidate thoroughly—not by his credentials, but by his worldview and past actions.
We must ask:
Does he support the ban on geoengineering and weather modification in Florida?
Does he oppose stratospheric aerosol injection programs?
Will he protect medical freedom and informed consent on campus?
Does he oppose divisive and discriminatory ideology that values race and ethnicity over merit and accomplishments?
If not, he has no place leading one of America’s top public universities.
Florida has drawn a clear line in the sand—let’s not allow our values or progress to be eroded.
Global Wellness Forum
Truth. Wellness. Freedom.