UC President Santa Ono leaving Cincinnati for UBC

CINCINNATI (Joe Webb) - The University of British Columbia has confirmed that the current president of the University of Cincinnati will soon be its new president.

A source told Local 12 on the morning of June 13, that Ono is currently in the process of telling his staff that he's stepping down.

The University of British Columbia announced its new president on June 13. The university says Ono will take over there on August 15 for a five-year term.

Ono published a letter addressed to UC Community and Cincinnati friends. It reads in part: "This decision was by far the most difficult I have ever made. My six years at UC as your Provost and now President have been simply extraordinary and I am proud of what we have accomplished here together. UC has never been stronger and is positioned to continue to move from strength to strength."

Ono recorded a message for UBC.


According to UC's website, Ono has served as the university's president since August of 2012. Ono was born in Vancouver, where the University of British Columbia is located. According to UBC, Ono's father taught mathematics there in the 1960s.

Ono's announcement took most faculty and students by surprise. The board of trustees for UC were also surprised when they found out last week that the dynamic leader and social media butterfly was returning to Vancouver where he was born.

Dr. Ono had promised to serve UC for 10 years but has cut that nearly in half. He served two years as Provost and not quite four years as president.

He has overseen $1 billion fundraising effort, the renovation of Nippert Stadium and made strong efforts to land UC in a power five athletic conference.

It was also on his watch that a UC police officer was charged with murder that prompted a complete overhaul of the university's police department and method of policing.

Santa Ono has more than 70,000 twitter followers and made the hashtag #HottestCollegeinAmerica a rallying cry for students and Bearcat fans.

Santa Ono was not just UC's president, he was its biggest cheerleader. His social media presence alone linked him to students, faculty, alums and strangers to campus. On campus Monday, there was a sense of loss.

"It's sad. I really don't want him to go. He's truly made this campus the hottest college in America," said UC junior, Julia Heyl.

"You don't want a carbon copy because you always want someone who can do something different. A person who will view the university with a different lens and take the university in an upward and also different direction," said Dr. O'dell Owens.

"We won't miss one beat. I have confidence in our future. I have confidence in the leadership we have here. I have all the confidence in Provost Davenport who is now stepping up as the interim president here," said UC trustee, Robert Richardson.

Richardson says the university will conduct a nationwide search for its next president. Both Richardson and Davenport say there will be no noticeable changes for students at the university. Davenport says she is committed to building on what Santa Ono did to get UC into the Big 12, which will make a decision on expansion this summer. Davenport says she welcomes the challenge, but has not decided yet if she will apply for the president's job.

Santa Ono will stay at UC until the middle of July and start at the University of British Columbia in August.