The rejection of Santa Ono as the University of Florida’s next president confronts the state’s flagship university with a conundrum as it picks a new leader: Must it consider a president based on political ideology rather than academic qualifications?

“I don’t think that any credible, talented administrator will take a job at Florida under those circumstances, because it’s a career-ender,” said Silke-Maria Weineck, a professor at the University of Michigan where Ono was president until he stepped down after UF tapped him for the role.

On Tuesday, Florida’s Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s colleges and universities, voted 10-6 against Ono’s confirmation as UF’s 14th president — a shocking rejection of someone unanimously approved by UF’s board of trustees. It was the first t

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