U-M’s new president inherits host of challenges: What Kent Syverud faces

New U-M president to join university during challenging time
President-elect Kent Syverud says university can ‘curl up’ or ‘lead’
Most important challenge, Syverud said, is to restore faith in some people’s minds in higher education’s role in making the nation successful

ANN ARBOR — Kent Syverud, the man chosen Monday as the next leader of the University of Michigan, knows the job won’t be easy. For one thing, he said, U-M and other universities are in a fight to retain the United States’ place as a world leader in higher education.

“These are challenging times for Michigan, for higher education and the whole world,” Syverud, currently chancellor and president of Syracuse University, said Monday after the Board of Regents, in a special meeting, unanimously approved his hiring. “We have a choice in how to respond. We can curl up in a ball … or we can do what Michigan has always done at its best: We can lead.”

His voice sometimes filled with emotion, Svyerud further acknowledged the challenges ahead in a video introduction on YouTube. “When I start in July I will need your help,” Syverud said. “The university has had a rough patch recently. I will have a lot of listening and a lot of learning to do.”

Syverud will become U-M’s third president in five years and the first U-M alumnus to serve as president in nearly a century.

Syverud will begin his post at the state’s largest university July 1, becoming U-M’s 16th president. He has a five-year contract and a base salary of $2 million, with the potential to earn an annual performance award of up to 30% of his salary.

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He will replace U-M interim President Domenic Grasso, the former U-M Dearborn chancellor who has held the office since May, after former U-M President Santo Ono stepped down after less than three years.

Syverud, 69, faces numerous challenges, including federal funding cuts to nearly 200 grants; issues in the athletic department, student access and affordability and navigating the rise of artificial intelligence.

“For our university and our society, American higher education faces more challenges now than at any point since World War II,” said board chair Mark Bernstein. “Given our position in the nation and the state, it is imperative for us to have a leader who is prepared to meet these challenges.”

Syverud will provide stability and vision, and he also understands U-M, Bernstein added.

“He’s a deep, steady and broad thinker,” Bernstein said. “He has a track record of success.”

After the meeting, Syverud outlined to Bridge Michigan what he thinks is the “most important challenge of all.”

“The people of the United States understand and support higher education in times where doubts have been formed in many minds,” Syverud said. “We’ve become an incredibly successful country, in part because because of having the best higher education system in the world and I think that’s particularly been true in the state of Michigan, and I’m worried we may be losing that for a whole host of reasons and we have to do our part to turn that around.”

Among the issues that Syverud will face:

Federal funding cuts/mandates

U-M’s annual research report documented $2.16 billion in research spending across the campuses of Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint for fiscal year 2025. That amount included $1.2 billion in federal funds. But since President Donald Trump began his second term last year, federal funds have been slashed for 189 U-M grants, according to Arthur Lupia, U-M vice president for research and innovation. Many of the grants, funded over many years, were in their last year of funding, and numerous ones were challenged and reinstated, Lupia added. But he wasn’t sure how many were reinstated as U-M continues to challenge the cuts. U-M officials did not respond to inquiries seeking clarity.

Meanwhile, billions of dollars have been cut to Medicaid and other federal programs, and mandates have been passed impacting U-M’s hospital, such as gender-affirming care for minors.

There was a debate after WWII whether to maintain federal government funding to large research universities and that has impacted everything from the economy to national defense, said Regent Paul Brown. But the relationship between the federal government and universities is changing without a national debate, Brown added.

As a lawyer, Syverud “understands the issue and when we can push back on that and refuse the mandates, so to speak,” said Brown. “He’s a humble negotiator, so hopefully we can become a part of that national conversation with elected officials and the public: Is this where we really want to go? It’s the first existential question that academia have faced in 50 years.”

Athletic department

U-M has one of the largest athletic departments in the nation and has grappled with two high-profile scandals in two years. The university in December hired Jenner & Block, an outside law firm, to investigate what happened leading up to the firing last month of head football coach Sherrone Moore for having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. The report is forthcoming. The NCAA investigated an illegal scouting and sign-stealing scandal with the U-M football program which led in 2025 to fines that included the loss of post-season revenue for two seasons and other penalties.

U-M’s two satellite campuses

U-M Flint has been engaged in a strategic planning process in 2022 after former U-M President Mary Sue Coleman called attention to low graduation rates and enrollment declines, which have turned around in recent years. Syverud planned to visit U-M Flint on campus on Monday before heading back to Syracuse because, he said, many have long viewed U-M’s Flint and Dearborn campuses as “extra campuses.”

“My belief is that University of Michigan is a great university with three main campuses, not with one,” said Syverud. “And I want to understand Flint and Dearborn well, and I don’t want to perform on that. I want to make it true.”

Student affordability and access

Tuition and fees for in-state, undergraduate students enrolled on U-M’s main campus in Ann Arbor total $18,346 for 2025-26, which is the second-highest cost among the state’s 15 public universities, according to a report by the Michigan Association of State Universities. Only Michigan Technological University’s tuition is higher, costing $19,982.

Cost control is needed, Brown said, because college costs increase when real wages don’t. Students receiving tuition support also need help with finances for books, housing and other costs, added Regent Michael Behm.

Additionally, there is a gap in K-12 students’ exposure to what you can do to access higher education, Brown said, so U-M, and other colleges “lose a huge part of really capable students … because of that knowledge gap and resources gap in their communities … We’ve got to figure out how to solve that.”

Syverud also said it was important to reflect the state’s diversity.

Impact of artificial intelligence

AI is regarded as an issue transforming higher education for students and U-M, ushering in changes in research, discoveries, data processing and more.

Syverud has deep roots at U-M

During the meeting, many welcomed Syverud back to U-M, where he arrived in 1978 via a Greyhound bus with one suitcase and was able to study on a scholarship.

He earned two graduate degrees: one in law and a master’s degree in economics. He also taught at U-M’s law school and met and married his wife on U-M’s campus, Dr. Ruth Chen, who was a doctoral student in the School of Public Health and toxicology and is now an environmental toxicologist and Syracuse University professor. The couple are the parents of three grown sons, Steven, Brian and David, and five grandchildren.

“The University of Michigan stands at a pivotal moment — one defined by remarkable momentum, global impact, and growing opportunity,” said Regent Sarah Hubbard. “President Syverud brings a deep understanding of higher education leadership, a strong commitment to students and faculty, and a clear appreciation for the responsibility that comes with stewarding one of the world’s great public universities. His experience and values position him well to lead Michigan into its next chapter.”