Tampa Bay Times: Why I think confidentiality helped UF secure a top president | Column

The University of Florida has never been stronger — and our commitment to becoming the nation’s top public university has never been clearer. As we enter our next chapter, bold leadership is essential to sustaining the extraordinary momentum that defines Gator Nation. That’s why the University of Florida Presidential Search Committee has unanimously recommended Dr. Santa J. Ono as UF’s sole public finalist to become our 14th president.

This transition comes at a time of rapid transformation in higher education. From artificial intelligence to increasing competition for talent to the evolving role of public institutions, leading a top university today requires vision, courage, and the ability to bring people together around a shared purpose.

At the outset of this search process, we understood the importance of listening. We began by holding 10 listening sessions — with students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, administration, and members of the Gainesville community — to hear firsthand what qualities the UF community wanted in its next leader. These conversations shaped our priorities and decision-making.

Our 15-member Presidential Search Committee — each of whom has signed onto this op-ed — reflects the breadth and depth of the UF community. The committee includes 10 alumni, seven major donors, four respected faculty leaders and a student leader. It also comprises leaders from across Florida and the country in fields such as public service, agriculture, healthcare, law, insurance, transportation, real estate, and land development. This wide range of perspectives informed every step of the process and reflects the statewide and national impact of the University of Florida.

Our committee worked diligently for nearly five months — conducting a comprehensive and thoughtful process. While thorough, the search was also efficient and focused, driven by the urgency of continuing UF’s remarkable trajectory without delay. Throughout, we remained guided by the feedback we received from the university community.

One of the most consequential decisions we faced was how to design the search process itself. The regulations of the University System of the State of Florida typically require presidential search committees to recommend two or more finalists, and for many universities across the state, that model makes sense. But the regulations also allow flexibility in cases of exceptional circumstances where selecting multiple finalists is infeasible — and this was one of those cases.

This search attracted a broad and impressive pool of candidates from across the landscape of higher education — including, notably, multiple sitting presidents of major research universities. That alone is a powerful reflection of UF’s rising national stature and the appeal of this opportunity. But every one of those sitting presidents made it clear: they would only participate if the process guaranteed confidentiality and their name would not be released publicly unless they were the sole finalist.

This isn’t just reasonable — it’s standard practice at top research universities. Sitting presidents face significant consequences at their current institutions if they are publicly identified as unsuccessful candidates in another search. That risk understandably deters many of the most experienced and qualified leaders from entering open, multi-finalist processes.

By contrast, leaders serving as provosts or deans — while also highly qualified — are typically viewed as pursuing a natural next step in their careers, and their candidacies are often publicly supported by their home institutions. That distinction is why many leading universities structure their searches accordingly.

The facts bear this out. Over the past three years, 32 presidential searches have been conducted by member institutions of the Association of American Universities (AAU) — widely considered the most prestigious organization of leading research institutions in North America, of which UF is a member. Thirty of those 32 searches resulted in a sole public finalist or an internal appointment. Of the two that named more than one public finalist, only one included a sitting president — and that individual was not from a major research university.

Among 32 recent searches conducted by non-AAU research universities, 20 also resulted in a sole public finalist. Of the 12 that named multiple finalists, only three included a sitting president from a major research university — and none included more than one sitting president from a major research university.

In total, across 64 searches by major research universities over the last three years, not one has publicly named more than one sitting president of a major research university as a finalist.

This context informed our decision. It became clear during our process that the most competitive candidates — including multiple sitting presidents — would not continue if the University of Florida were to name more than one finalist publicly.

Confidentiality enabled us to engage that top-tier field. And it brought us Dr. Ono — the sitting president of the University of Michigan, one of the most respected public universities in the world. He is not only an accomplished scholar and administrator — he is the kind of visionary leader the University of Florida needs at this moment in its history.

We believe Florida’s law rightly allows for discretion in exceptional cases. This was one of those moments. The University of Florida is in a position unlike any other in the country — a top public university with extraordinary momentum, located in one of the most dynamic and influential states in America, and with unmatched support from our state government. We needed to match that stature with a search process capable of attracting a leader of Dr. Ono’s caliber.

We are proud of the outcome. And we are confident that, with Dr. Ono, the University of Florida is poised to reach even greater heights in teaching, research, and service to our state, our nation, and the world.

Rahul Patel is the chair of the UF Presidential Search Committee, the vice chair of the UF Board of Trustees, and a partner in the law firm of King & Spalding. Members of the UF Presidential Search Committee include Charles Allison, Douglas Band, John Brinkman, Timothy Cerio, Shakira Henderson, Charles Lydecker, Sarah Lynne, Duane Mitchell, Michael Okun, Marsha Powers, Jon Pritchett, Robert Stilley, Karen Unger and Patrick Zalupski.

This article was originally posted by the Tampa Bay Times.