The University of Michigan is expected to begin a search for its 16th president following Santa Ono’s announcement that he expects to step down to accept the top job at the University of Florida, which would make his the shortest tenure of any UM president. Here’s a look at UM’s past presidents and interim and acting leaders.
Mary Sue Coleman, interim president, 2022
Coleman, Michigan’s 14th president, returned on an interim basis to guide the university following the sudden firing of Mark Schlissel.
Mark Schlissel, 14th president, 2014-22
Schlissel became the first physician-scientist to lead Michigan when he assumed the post on July 1, 2014, but was dismissed suddenly from the post after an investigation found evidence of improper conduct with an employee. During his presidency, UM founded the Go Blue Guarantee, expanding access to lower income students.
Coleman, 13th president, 2002-14
Coleman came to the university after seven years helming the University of Iowa and became the first female president, guiding Michigan through the Great Recession. She led the university’s $3.2 billion Michigan Difference fundraising campaign, oversaw several building projects and championed diversity before her retirement.
B. Joseph White, interim president, 2002
White, the Wilbur K. Pierpont Collegiate Professor and professor of business administration, was selected to lead Michigan following the sudden departure of Lee Bollinger.
Lee Bollinger, 12th president, 1996-2001
Bollinger, a First Amendment law professor, rose to become dean of UM’s law school before leaving to be provost at Dartmouth. He was president as Michigan defended a pair of lawsuits against its affirmative action policies, which ultimately resulted in split decisions in the U.S. Supreme Court. The rulings came after he departed to become president of Columbia University, from which he retired as president in 2023.
Homer Neal, interim president, 1996
Neal was vice president of research when he was tapped to lead the university following James Duderstadt.
James Duderstadt, 11th president, 1988-96
Duderstadt served as provost and vice president of academic affairs before being selected as Michigan’s 11th president. A nuclear engineer, he led the Michigan Mandate, a program designed to increase diversity and focused on preparing students for a more global world before announcing that he would step down. He died in 2024.
Robben Fleming, interim president, 1988
Fleming, the university’s 9th leader, stepped in as interim president following the resignation of Harold Shapiro.
Harold Shapiro, 10th president, 1980-87
Shapiro, an economist who helped make UM famous for its economic modeling, led Michigan during a period of downsizing before leaving to become president of Princeton University, which he led until 2001.
Allan Smith, interim president, 1979
A former vice president of academic affairs, Smith led the university following Fleming’s departure.
Fleming, 9th president, 1967-79
Fleming, who came to UM from the University of Wisconsin, was a labor relations specialist and guided the university with little unrest through a tumultuous period for American universities.
Harlan Hatcher, 8th president, 1951-67
The university nearly doubled its student population during the tenure of Hatcher, who came to UM from the position of vice president at Ohio State University. His leadership marked the acquisition of the North Campus, as well as the creation of the Flint and Dearborn campuses.
Alexander Ruthven, 7th president, 1929-51
Ruthven led UM through the Great Depression and war years and the start of post-war expansion after distinguished career in zoology at the university.
Clarence Little, 6th president, 1925-29
Little was just 36 when he was named university president, having previously led the University of Maine. His reform-minded approach to the university led to tensions and he resigned in 1929.
Alfred Lloyd, acting president, 1925
Lloyd, dean of the graduate school, was chosen to helm the university following the death of Marion Burton.
Marion Burton, 5th president, 1920-25
Burton came to UM from the presidency of the University of Minnesota and was the only one to have died in office. Burton, known for his public speaking and professional charm, doubled the university’s annual income and paved the way for expansion before his death of a heart attack in February 2025.
Harry Hutchins, 4th president, 1909-1920
Hutchins was initially named interim president following the 38-year presidency of James Angell. The dean of the law school, Hutchins outlasted others in a search that included eventual President Woodrow Wilson (then Princeton’s leader), who declined the job.
James Angell, 3rd president, 1871-1909
Angell, who took over at Michigan after leaving the University of Vermont, led Michigan to become one of the nation’s premier research institutions. During his 38-year presidency, during which he also assume diplomatic duties such as minister to China in 1880, he more than quadrupled the student population and championed it as a place to get “an uncommon education for the common man.”
Henry Frieze, acting president, 1869-71 (also 1880-81 and 1879)
Freize, who served following Erastus Haven and also during Angell’s diplomatic missions, was the first president under which women were admitted to the university (1870).
Erastus Haven, 2nd president, 1863-69
Haven was the first president to win an appropriation from the state legislature after succeeding Henry Tappan in 1863. A professor of Latin, Haven helped mend fences following Tappan’s departure amid disagreements with the board of regents.
Henry Tappan, 1st president, 1852-63
Tappan broadened the university’s teaching from what was known as a classical curriculum to one that embraced scientific teaching and led the creation of the library, laboratories, astronomy observatory and an art gallery. The university was founded in 1817 and was reconstituted in Ann Arbor in 1837 under the direction of the board of regents until Tappan was selected its first president.
