Dr. Santa J. Ono is the 15th president of the University of Michigan (U-M). A leader in higher education in the U.S. and Canada, Ono is an experienced vision researcher whose pioneering work in experimental medicine focuses on the immune system and eye disease.
Prior to U-M, Ono served as the President and Vice Chancellor of the University of British Columbia. There, he chaired the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities and the Research Universities of British Columbia.
Earlier in his career, Ono was President of the University of Cincinnati and served on the Board of the Ohio Third Frontier. He served as Senior Vice Provost and Deputy to the Provost at Emory University. Additionally, he has taught at Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, and University College London.
Ono is the Chair of the Council of Presidents of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) and serves on the Boards of the American Council on Education (ACE), the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the Council on Competitiveness, and Internet2.
Ono earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Experimental Medicine from McGill University.