U-M taps Domenico Grasso as interim president as Santa Ono leaves

University of Michigan has named Domenico Grasso as interim president
Santa Ono is leaving to lead the University of Florida
Grasso will likely be a short-timer and not a candidate for the permanent position

The University of Michigan Board of Regents has appointed Dearborn campus chancellor Domenico Grasso as interim president of the university.

The appointment of Grasso — who led the Dearborn campus since 2018 — is effective immediately. He succeeds Santa Ono, who announced Sunday he would leave Michigan to be the University of Florida president.

Grasso is “widely admired for his visionary work” leading the Dearborn campus, the regents said in a statement.

Domenico Grasso, who has led the University of Michigan Dearborn campus since 2018, is the new University of Michigan interim president. The Board of Regents announced Grasso’s appointment Thursday. (Courtesy of the University of Michigan)

It’s expected to be a short-term situation: Grasso will not apply for the permanent post, according to the regents, who will meet again on May 15 in Dearborn for next steps.

A search for Ono’s full-time successor will be completed “ within the year,” according to the president’s bio on U-M’s website.

In a statement, Grasso promised to “meet this opportunity with energy, integrity and dedication to our shared mission.”

During his tenure, UM-Dearborn has moved to a need-based financial aid model, increased the four-graduation rate by 16%, tripled “external research funding,” and achieved high research status.

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U-M has campuses in Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn. The university is led by eight regents, including two Republicans and six Democrats.

Those watching the university say Ono’s successor will inherit big issues, from rebuilding trust with students and faculty and responding to wholesale cuts to federal research to a growing national dissatisfaction with higher education.

Ono left amid some dissatisfaction among regents and faculty over his reluctance to play a larger role in fighting higher education edicts from the Trump administration.

Among other things, Ono this year ended diversity, equity and inclusion programming after Trump threatened funding cuts.

Grasso was previously the provost and chief academic officer at the University of Delaware.

He was also a professor at Smith College and the founding director of the Picker Engineering Program, according to the University of Michigan University Record. Grasso was also a dean and vice president at the University of Vermont.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a master’s degree from Purdue University and a doctoral degree from U-M, according to his bio.

The regents said Gabriella Scarlatta, the provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at UM-Dearborn, will be the interim chancellor of UM-Dearborn.