University of Michigan President Santa Ono says he’s leaving Ann Arbor to take the same job at the University of Florida this summer.

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Ono announced the move in an email to the U-M community Sunday night. He said it’s been an honor to lead the school, which hired him away from the University of Cincinnati in 2022. 

Ono faces a lawsuit from eight former U-M workers accusing the school of firing them over their support for Palestinians.

The Detroit News reports the plaintiffs are also suing the Board of Regents and other administrators, alleging the university violated their First Amendment right to protest.

Three of the former employees took part in a sit-in at the president’s office. The other five demonstrated outside the U-M art museum. A spokesperson had no comment on the case. 

–Reporting by Pat Batcheller, WDET News

More headlines for Monday, May 5, 2025:

• The Michigan Global Talent Initiative wants 60% of the state’s workforce to get a post-secondary education or professional certificate by 2030.
• The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is joining efforts to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day on May 5.
• The Division of Victim Services provides grant funding to federally recognized tribes for domestic violence through the StrongHearts Native Helpline, an anonymous confidential hotline for Native Americans and Alaska Natives. To contact the helpline, call 1-844-7Native or visit strongheartshelpline.org to chat.
• The city of Detroit is launching a Summer Youth Arts Employment Training Initiative to train and hire teens for summer jobs.
• Dearborn’s Economic Development Department and the American Arab Chamber of Commerce is hosting a resource fair from 4-8 p.m Wednesday, May 14, at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.