President of the University of Michigan

The president of the University of Michigan is a constitutional officer who serves as the principal executive officer of the University of Michigan. The president is chosen by the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, as provided for in the Constitution of the State of Michigan. Fourteen people—thirteen men and one woman—have held the office, in addition to several others who have held it in either in an acting or interim capacity.

See also: History of the University of Michigan

President of the University of Michigan
Incumbent Mark Schlissel since July 1, 2014 (2014-07-01)
University of Michigan
Reports to	Board of Regents
Residence	President's House
Appointer	Board of Regents
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Michigan
Formation	1850 (1850)
First holder	Henry Philip Tappan
Salary	$852,346[1]
Website	Office of the President

The position is currently held by Mark S. Schlissel, who was appointed in 2014.

History

The office was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1850, which also specified that the president was to be appointed by the Regents of the University of Michigan and preside at their meetings, but without a vote.[2] The precise wording has evolved through subsequent state constitutions, and as of November 2018 the office is defined by Article VIII, section 5 of the Constitution of 1963:[3]

The regents of the University of Michigan and their successors in office shall constitute a body corporate known as the Regents of the University of Michigan; ... Each board shall, as often as necessary, elect a president of the institution under its supervision. He shall be the principal executive officer of the institution, be ex-officio a member of the board without the right to vote and preside at meetings of the board. ...

Between the establishment of the University of Michigan in 1837 and 1850, the Board of Regents ran the university directly; by law, they were supposed to appoint a chancellor to administer the university, but they never did, and a rotating roster of professors carried out the day-to-day administrative duties instead.[4]

While the modern office was created in 1850, the University of Michigan itself now traces its date of founding to 1817, when its precursor, the University of Michigania, was founded. The only president of that institution, Rev. John Monteith, appears in the list of presidents but is not officially considered to have been a president of the University of Michigan.[5]

List of Presidents of the University of Michigan

The first president of the university was Henry Philip Tappan. The position had originally been offered to Henry Barnard, but he declined, and Tappan and John Hiram Lathrop (then Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison) were nominated as new choices, after which Tappan was unanimously elected. Barnard later succeeded Lathrop at Wisconsin.

The 14th and current president of the university is Mark S. Schlissel, appointed in 2014. Of the previous presidents:

• 1 had the office abolished
• 1 died in office
• 1 was removed by the regents (for which subsequent regents apologized)
• 5 retired at the end of their careers
• 2 resigned to return to teaching or research
• 4 resigned to take posts at other institutions (Northwestern University, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Princeton University, and Columbia University)

Presidents of the University of Michigan

Number	Name	Portrait	Years in office	Notes
	Rev. John Monteith		1817–1821	First and only president of the University of Michigania
	Vacant		1821–1837	Office abolished in favor of a Board of Trustees
	Vacant		1837–1852	Board of Regents replaces Board of Trustees
1	Henry Philip Tappan		1852–1863	First president of the University of Michigan, removed by regents
2	Erastus Otis Haven		1863–1869	Resigned to become President of Northwestern University
acting	Henry S. Frieze		1869–1871	Following President Haven's resignation.
3	James Burrill Angell		1871–1909	Retired after 38 years (longest-serving president)
acting	Henry S. Frieze		1880–1882	While President Angell is U.S. Minister to China
acting	Henry S. Frieze		1887–1888	While President Angell is on the commission negotiating the Bayard-Chamberlain Treaty
acting	Harry Burns Hutchins		1897–1898	While President Angell is U.S. Minister to Turkey
interim	Harry Burns Hutchins		1909–1910	Following President Angell's retirement.
4	Harry Burns Hutchins		1910–1920	Was the first student to receive a degree from James B. Angell at Michigan; retired
5	Marion LeRoy Burton		1920–1925	Died in office
acting	Alfred Henry Lloyd		1925	From February through September after the death of President Burton
6	Clarence Cook Little		1925–1929	Resigned to conduct research at Bar Harbor, Maine
7	Alexander Grant Ruthven		1929–1951	Retired after 22 years in office
8	Harlan Hatcher		1951–1968	Retired
9	Robben Wright Fleming		1968–1979	Resigned, was chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
interim	Allan Frederick Smith		1979	Following President Fleming's resignation.
10	Harold Tafler Shapiro		1980–1988	Resigned to become president of Princeton University
interim	Robben Wright Fleming		1988	Following President Shapiro's resignation.
11	James Johnson Duderstadt		1988–1996	Resigned to return to teaching
interim	Homer A. Neal		1996	Following President Duderstadt's resignation.
12	Lee C. Bollinger		1996–2002	Resigned to become president of Columbia University
interim	B. Joseph White		2002	Following President Bollinger's resignation.
13	Mary Sue Coleman		2002–2014	Retired[6] as the first female president of the University of Michigan
14	Mark S. Schlissel		2014–present	Incumbent, took office in July 1, 2014.[7]

Source: (Bentley Historical Library 2004) harv error: no target: CITEREFBentley_Historical_Library2004 (help)

Notes

1. Associated Press 2018
2. State of Michigan 1850, Article 13, section 8
3. State of Michigan 1963, Article VIII, section 5
4. Hinsdale 1906, p. 37
5. Bentley Historical Library
6. http://www.annarbor.com/news/university-of-michigan-president-mary-sue-coleman-to-retire-in-july-2014/
7. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/25/us/michigan-university-names-new-president.html

References

• Univ. of Michigan President Getting $852K Salary & Contract Extension, Associated Press, September 20, 2018, retrieved October 10, 2018
• Bentley Historical Library (2018), Presidents of the University of Michigan, retrieved 2018-04-25
• Hinsdale, Burke A. (1906), Demmon, Isaac (ed.), History of the University of Michigan, University of Michigan, retrieved 2007-08-16
• Sahadi, Jeanne (November 20, 2006), Highest paid college presidents, CNNMoney.com, retrieved 2007-08-24
• State of Michigan (1850), Constitution of Michigan of 1850, retrieved 2007-08-24
• State of Michigan (1963), Constitution of Michigan of 1963, retrieved 2018-11-03