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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Coleman announces July 2014 retirement
University President Mary Sue Coleman applauds at Thursday's meeting of the Board of Regents.
Search for next
president begins
during summer
By PETER SHAHIN, SAM
GRINGLAS and
JENNIFER CALFAS
Daily News Editor
and Daily StaffReporters
APRIL 18, 2013 - At the Uni-
versity's Board of Regents meeting
Thursday, University President
Mary Sue Coleman announced
her intention to retire after her
term expires in July 2014 without
seeking a contract extension.
"Leading the University of
Michigan is the most challenging
and rewarding work of my career.
It's a tremendous privilege and
one that continuously energizes
me," she said at the meeting.
Coleman began her tenure as
the University's 13th president in
August 2002, succeeding Lee Bol-
linger, now president of Columbia
University. Her successor will be
chosen by the Board of Regents,
which has already been preparing
for her long-expected retirement.
Coleman is the fourth-longest
servingpresident in the history of
the University, and the first presi-
dent to serve more than a decade
since Robben Fleming's regular
appointment ended in 1979.
After receiving her under-
graduate degree in chemistry
from Grinnell College in Iowa,
she received a doctorate in bio-
chemistry from the Univer-
sity of North Carolina. Coleman
served as the director of a cancer
research center at the University
of Kentucky for 20 years before
serving as president of the Uni-
versity of Iowa for seven years.
"The University of Michigan
deserves the best in a leader,
and I want to give the Board of
Regents ample time to select the
next president," Coleman said in
a statement.
In an interview after the meet-
ing, Coleman said she has no plans
to decelerate her busy schedule
during the remaining 15 months
on the job. She will continue to
engage other donors throughout
the alumni community.
"I love to listen and I have this
great group of people around me
that helped me create the vision
and I really try to translate the
vision and help people under-
stand when they've given a big
gift, it will be the happiest day of
(their) lives," Coleman said.
In addition, Coleman said she
willfocusoncompletingotherren-
ovations and implementing a stra-
tegic plan for health-care changes.
"We just have a lot of work to
do, and I'm going to be excited by
that work and not slowed down
for a second," Coleman said.
University ProvostPhil Hanlon
praised Coleman's efforts during
her tenure at the University - cit-
ing her work to improve academic
quality, increase international
reputation and recognition, grow
the application pool, reduce costs
for students with need and over-
see the most successful capital
campaign in University history as
evidence of leaving a legacy with
the University.
"It's just really amazing what
she's done just as a friend and
a mentor," Hanlon said. "I've
learned so much from her. She's
been a terrific leader."
Regent Andrea Fischer
Newman (R) echoed Hanlon's
positive statements, praising
Coleman's ability to keep the
University thriving and prosper-
ous during harsh economic times
with decreased state appropria-
tion and federal support.
"This University is doing phe-
nomenally under her leadership,"
Newman said. "This is a huge, huge
loss,youknow, but it's her decision."
Her tenure at the University
has faced a number of challenges
- foremost building a new bud-
get model in the face of declining
state revenues. State support for
the University of Michigan has
declined from around 35 percent
of the University's budgetin 2002
to less than 17 percent this year.
Coleman also was forced to con-
front the University of Michigan
Health System's six-month delay
in reporting a medical resident's
possession of child pornography
to University Police and a scandal
in which former basketball team
booster Ed Martin admitted to
running an illegal gambling oper-
ation from which he laundered
money to members of the Michi-
gan men's basketball team.
In a presentation to the
regents, Martha Pollack, vice
provost for academic and bud-
getary affairs, said tuition has
increasedby more than 5 percent
per year over the last decade in
order to help make up for losses
in state appropriations.
At the same time, the Univer-
sity has also made substantial
contributions to centrally allo-
cated financial aid to help offset
costs for disadvantaged students.
Early in her presidency, Cole-
man also championed the Uni-
versity's defense of race-based
affirmative action admissions
policies before the U.S. Supreme
Court. In two separate rulings,
the court decided that the Uni-
versity could use a "holistic"
review process, meaning each
candidate would be judged by
the individual contributions they
might make to the overall cam-
pus environment.
Despite a very public campaign
by Coleman, Michigan voters
adopted Proposal 2in2006, which
outlawed the use of race-based
admissions in higher education.
She has maintained her stance on
affirmative action and spoken out
on more recent rulings on the con-
troversial policy aswell.
Coleman also spearheaded
the University's largest capital
campaign, The Michigan Differ-
ence, which ended in 2008 and
raised $3.2 billion. The campaign
helped finance renovations to or
construction of a number of cam-
pus buildings, including the Pub-
lic Policy School's Weill Hall, the
C.S. Mott Children's Hospital,
and the Ross School of Business.
The University is set to launch
its next capital campaign this
fall. The total goal has not yet
been set,but accordingto atweet
sent by Regent Mark Bernstein
during his Twitter Town Hall on
Wednesday, the campaign will
aim to raise at least $1 billion for
financial aid.
Besides the projects funded
through the capital campaign,
Coleman has shepherded the Res-
idence Life Initiative to renovate
a number of University Housing
facilities. Since 2002, Alice Lloyd,
Mosher-Jordan and others have
been renovated in the first phase
of the program. Construction of
North Quad Residence Hall was
completed in 2010 and South
Quad and West Quad Residence
Halls are slated for renovations in
the next two years.
As the presidentof the Univer-
sity, Coleman has also traveled to
a number of countries to estab-
lish partnerships and engage
with alumni and educational
leaders around the world. In her
official capacity, she will have
traveled to China, South Africa,
the United Arab Emirates, Bra-
zil, Israel and Ghana. She will
take her final official trip abroad
to India in November. ,
While Coleman was chair
of the Association of American
Universities for one year - from
October 2011 to October 2012 -
she served as spokesperson for
the association.
Primarily focusing on research,
Coleman represented AAU in
meetings with national policy-
makers to discuss issues related to
research and graduate, profession-
al and undergraduate education.
After AAU appointed her, Cole-
man said she hoped to represent
the University's work in research
well in her future meetings.
"The contributions and dis-
coveries of research universi-
ties are integral to the forward
momentum of our country,"
Coleman said. "I look forward
to giving voice to our important
work in the upcoming year."
AAU - a nonprofit association
of 62 U.S. and two Canadian pub-
lic and private research universi-
ties - focuses on developing and
implementing better national and
institutional policies related to
research and scholarship,graduate
and professional education, under-
graduate education and public ser-
vice in research universities.
Coleman has also been on the
board of directors of Johnson &
Johnson, a pharmaceutical company
based inNew Jersey,since2003.
As stated on the company's
website, "Having served as presi-
dent of two of the nation's largest
and most prestigious public uni-
versities and having a long and
decorated career in the sciences,
Dr. Coleman brings to the Compa-
ny's Board a unique point of view
regarding organizational man-
agement and academic research
vital to a company competing in
science-based industries."
In 2010, The New York Times
questioned potential conflicts of
interest pertaining to Coleman's
position on the board. Soon after,
the University Medical School
became the first in the country
to refuse drug company funding
in medical education class, citing
the need to eliminate any biases.
Coleman said in a statement
that she intends to remain active
in advocating for higher educa-
tion, scientific research support,
and diversity at the national
level. As part of this involve-
ment, Coleman will serve on the
Board of Directors for the Soci-
ety for Science and the Public
and on the Advisory Committee
to the Director of the National
Institutes of Health.
Coleman also plans to remain
inAnn Arbor.
"We have always lived in col-
lege towns and there's really no
place like Ann Arbor. We did
not think twice about where we
wanted to call home after the
presidency," she said.
While Coleman and her hus-
band have purchased a home in
Ann Arbor, they will split their
time between Michigan and Colo-
rado, where their son and his fam-
ily reside.
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