6B - Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com

6B - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

TUESDAY

COURTESY OFTHE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
University President Mary Sue Coleman poses with her
husband and grandchildren.

Before Coleman, former University presidents
left to continue service in higher education

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Retirement to At a speech to the Lansing
Economic Club in February,
include board Coleman said she plans to stay
active in retirement.
mbership, travel "I won't by lying on a beach
anywhere,"she said jokingly.
nd family time Coleman currently serves on
the board of directors ofJohnson
By KATIE BURKE & Johnson, which she first joined
ManagingEditor in 2003. Post-presidency, she will
also co-chair an initiative of the
you just ended your term American Academy of Arts and
ig a major public research Sciences centered on the impor-
rsity of international influ- tance of public research univer-
made up of a student body of sities. She will also serve on the
than 30,000 - what now? National Institute of Health's
r University President advisory council.
Sue Coleman, that ques- The history of the past 13 pres-
s becoming a reality as she idents spans about 200 years,
res to step down in July. with each occupant of the office
'ill be the 13th to leave the leaving a lasting legacy. Univer-
,following a legacy of pres- sity presidents have gone on to
swho have gone on to lead a variety of fields after finishing
orporation of Public Broad- their tenure, some maintaining
g, serve as presidents at Ivy a presence in Ann Arbor while
te universities and teach. others never look back.
e presidents before her, Henry Philip Tappan was the
san has said she plans to first president of the University
n Ann Arbor with her hus- and held a vision of competing
with peer European institutions.
e have lived in college He believed a public university
our entire adult lives, and should not just provide educa-
ve this community and tion, but also adapt to popular
thing it offers," she wrote needs. However, Tappan's view
e-mail interview. "There's conflicted with that of the Uni-
y no better place to be." versity's Board of Regents, lead-
eman, 70, will retire in ing to his firing in 1863.
and with that will begin a According to former Univer-
career transition. She has sity President James Duderstadt,
ly moved into a condo and who has written a book about
f the historic President's University presidency, "The
at 815 South University View from the Helm," after Tap-
e - which has opened its pan's exit from office, he retreat-
countless times for student ed from the university culture to
house events and trick-or- Lake Geneva. Tappan's 12 suc-
rs. cessors did not fade so quickly.
tugh Coleman will not Under James Angell, who took
to face the challenge of . office in 1871 and remained at
g the life she and her hus- the helm for a record 38 years,
have created in Ann Arbor, enrollment ballooned from 1,100
t presidents have, she does to over 5,000. However, by the
m traveling. time the University's Board of
tr son Jonathan and his Regents had accepted his resig-
live in Colorado, so we nation in 1909 - they had reject-
avel there regularly," Cole- ed it in 1905 - he had outlived his
erote. "We also would like predecessors. Angell stayed on at
more of the country and the University until his death in
world. Global experiences 1916 as President Emeritus.
grow old, and we enjoy The first and only University
ultures." president to die in office, Mari-

on Burton, assumed the post in
1920. He died five years later of
heart difficulties.
Alexander Ruthven became
presidentin 1929 and was respon-
sible for leading the University
through the Great Depression
and World War II. Duderstadt
said Ruthven dealt with these
national issues by converting
the University into the more
corporate structure it maintains
today. Though his legacy of busi-
ness partnership continued, he
was forced to retire in 1951 after
developing dementia.
In choosing Ruthven's suc-
cessor, the University took from
its rival, Ohio State University,
and appointed Harlan Hatcher,
a former dean and English pro-
fessor. Hatcher's administration
nearly doubled enrollment, from
23,000 to 41,000, and oversaw
the development of North Cam-
pus, and the Flint and Dearborn
campuses.
Though Hatcher ushered in an
era of University progress, stu-
dent activists of the 1960s did not
appreciate his efforts. Hatcher's
term coincided with the found-
ing of Students for a Democratic
Society and the rise of popular
student protests. Duderstadt said
incidents like students photo-
graphing Hatcher's wife while
she was indecent occurred fre-
quently.
He retired in 1967 and did not
return to Ann Arbor for about 10
years.
"The students were mean to
him," Duderstadt said of Hatch-
er's final years in office.
The University again chose
a president from the Big Ten
community, appointing Robben
Fleming, chancellor of the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, in 1968.
Fleming served for 10 years,
leaving the office to head the
Corporation for Public Broad-
casting.
Harold Shapiro became the
10th University president in
1980, guiding the University
through a time of national eco-
nomic difficulty. He began his
term just after the 1979 oil crisis,

inheriting a public university ina
state highly dependent on gaso-
line.
"The only option we had was
to get a little smaller and get
better at thesame time," Shap-
iro said. "Whether I achieved it'
or not, my focus was not on the
quantity of what we do but the
quality of what we do."
Shapiro chose to leave the
office in 1987, initially intending
to return to teaching in the Eco-
nomics Department; however, he
ended up taking an offer to serve
as president of Princeton Univer-
sity.
At Princeton, Shapiro tran-
sitioned from heading a large
administrative operation subject
to a variety of political actors
to a smaller institution with a
closer relationship to the aca-
demic sphere. He served until
2001 when he stepped down
and joined the Princeton faculty,
teaching economics and public
affairs.
"I've always told myself, when
I became president of the Uni-
versity of Michigan, that I would
never retire as a university presi-
dent, I would retire as a profes-
sor," Shapiro said.
Duderstadt took office after
Shapiro left for Princeton,
though at a relatively young age
of 46 compared to his prede-
cessors. Duderstadt worked to
increase diversity on campus and
grew and improved upon campus
infrastructure.
He left the presidency in 1996,
but unlike those before him,
Duderstadt stayed in Ann Arbor
to continue teaching. Though his
office is no longer in the Fleming
Administration Building, Duder-
stadt maintains close ties to the
University from his office in the
Duderstadt Library on North
Campus.
A second former Law School
dean assumed the presidency in
1996. Lee Bollinger developed
arts and sciences programs as
University president, as well as
faced legal challenges surround-
ing affirmative action in admis-
sions. He retired from office

in 2001 to take up the post at
Columbia University.
"I don't think (Bollinger) was
interested in being president at
Michigan for very long," Duder-
stadt said of Bollinger's tenure.
"It was a stepping stone."
Coleman took over after Bol-
linger's move to Columbia in
2002.
Duderstadt, Shapiro and Cole-
man have all spoken about the
transition from the presidency to
retirement.
According to Shapiro, the
move out of the President's
House - the oldest building on
campus - isn't much different
from moving out of any house.
However, moving out of Ann
Arbor was a different story.
"We called the movers and
they moved us out," Shapiro said.
"The hardest part was not only
leaving the University but leav-
ing town."
Shapiro still resides in New
Jersey, but said he makes it back
to Ann Arbor at least once a
semester.
In his book, Duderstadt
reflected on life after presidency
and the opportunities it can pro-
vide.
"Fortunately, we can con-
firm that there can indeed be
an active life after a university
presidency," Duderstadt wrote.
"Furthermore, it is possible to
have considerable impact built
on the experience and external
visibility gained during a presi-
dency."
Duderstadt said the transition
from presidency to retirement
was a major shift from public to
private life.
"At a public university, we
have a tendency to bury our his-
tory and pave over it," he said.
"That can be said of the presi-
dents as well."
He attributed the change
to the fact that he, like Shap-
iro, began his term at a young
age, allowing them to retire at a
relatively young and move on to
other projects.
"Harold left, I stayed," Duder-
stadt said.

Bothe Duderstadt and Sha-
piro. stepped down at younger
ages than Coleman. Duderstadt
retired at 54 and Shapiro retired
at 66.
Though former; presidents
leave the office, and possibly Ann
Arbor, they have continued to
be a resource for the University,
their predecessors and their suc-
cessors.
Coleman said she has benefit-
ed from the input of past presi-
dents whom she has been able to
be in contact with.
"I've had the pleasure of
working with Robben Fleming,
Harold Shapiro, Jim Duderstadt,
and Lee Bollinger," Coleman
wrote. "All have brought unique
experiences to the conversation.
And each of them has expressed
deep affection for Michigan and
its continued excellence."
Duderstadt said he has hosted
past presidents like Hatcher,
Fleming and Shapiro, who have
returned to Ann Arbor, attend-
ing football games and other
campus events.
In the capacity of being a
resource to those who have come
to the office after him, Duder-
stadt described the role of past
presidents as being, "unseen and
unheard, but available."
Shapiro echoed the sentiment,
saying past presidents should
be available for advice, but only
when called upon.
"Other than that past presi-
dents should just get on with
their life and get out of the way,"
Shapiro said.
Coleman said she does not
anticipate being in high demand
when University President-elect
Mark Schlissel occupies the
Fleming Administration Build-
ing next year.
"I will always be available, but
I also have complete faith in the
Board of Regents and its commit-
ment to hiring an outstanding
leader for the University," she
wrote before Schlissel's appoint-
ment in January. "Whoever is
selected will clearly possess the
qualities to be the 14th president
of this great University."

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