The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com - 7A ATHLETICS Schlissel to gear up for Big House presidential role On Campus Issues Fr pr tac on Uni Mark Ph.D, to lear The Regen day t Presid Michi Presid Schlis in teac istrati this hi career "Ob area tl about, curren prised part o doesn' stage v "It's meate, ferent Tho ment self-fu respon get of year, a ment o letics Brown budget Hov interc( the U offer. en's lac sity no The curren ing th 'om Ivy League, ing new facilities and expanding existing ones. Currently, three esident-elect to scheduled projects are ongoing, kle larger focus including renovations to Schem- bechler Hall and the Donald R. sports at the 'U' Shepard Softball Building. The total cost of all 14 of the By GREG GARNO scheduled projects at the start of Daily Sports Editor the new school year was estimat- ed to be $341 million, though that versity President-elect number can easily change. Schlissel has an M.D. and In his press conference Friday, but he may have some stuff Schlissel focused on the amount n about football Saturday. of attention athletic teams have University's Board of received at the University. ts voted unanimously Fri- "You Google 'Michigan' and o name Schlissel the 14th the first 10 stories you get are ent of the University of about athletics," he said. "We've gan, succeeding current got to find ways to leverage that ent Mary Sue Coleman. level of public attention onto the selarrives withbackground other wonderful things that are hing and university admin- happening on campus as well." on, but has not assumed Schlissel hopes to keep the gh of a position so far in his focus on academics, while sup- porting athletic development to viously (athletics are) an an appropriate level. He said stu- hat I do have to learn a lot dents still come to the University Schlissel said. "At my primarily to be educated and that it institution, you'd be sur- athletics should compliment that to know athletics is a big desire, not overpower it. f the campus's life, but it Schlissel will follow a president t happen at the national who has been active in the athlet- very often." ic community, During her tenure, not that sports don't per- Coleman was a driving force inthe the campus; it's just at a dif- hiring of currentAthletic Director level" Dave Brandon and has denied the ugh the Athletic Depart- raising of Final Four banners from remains autonomous and the 1992 to 1993 seasons in which nded, Schlissel will be booster Ed Martin admitted to sible for overseeing a bud- laundering money to athletes. $111 million for athletics last Brandon, a former regent, ccordingto the U.S. Depart- refused to raise the Final Four f Education's Equity in Ath- banners from the 1992 and 1993 Data Analysis. In contrast, basketball seasonsinwhichsports operated with an athletic booster Ed Martin admitted to t of $18 million in 2013. laundering money to athletes. wever, Brown also boasts 37 "Some day, I won't be president ollegiate sports, more than anymore, and maybe someone niversity currently has to else will have a different view," With the addition of wom- Coleman said in 2011. "ButI think crosse this year, the Univer- you have to reflect on the larger w has 27 varsity sports. meaning and that we want to hold Athletic Department is ourselves to a higher standard." tly in the midst of expand- Coleman was also at the helm e athletic campus, creat- when the University faced alle- gations of "failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program." OnFriday,BrandonpraisedCole- man's tenure while also expressing his supportfor Schlissel. "President Coleman has been engaged and helpful and been a pattern of Michigan Athletics - loves and respects the role it plays on campus," Brandon said. "And I'm sure the new president will have the same point of view. And that's what I heard in his remarks today at the press conference." Brandon added that he looks forward to meeting and working with Schlissel in the future. In the press conference, the president-elect said the Athletic Department maintains a strong reputation for the University. "It's important that our sports programs operate at the highest level of integrity," he said. "And that we practice in public the greatest level of sportsmanship to serve as a role model." The biggest difference between the Brown and Michigan athletic departments for Schlissel might not be the budget or the number of programs to monitor. Perhaps it's the number of people Michi- gan Stadium can hold - 90,000 more fans than Brown Stadium currently seats. And it's the atmosphere, the one that shuts down campus on Saturdays or keeps students out in the cold waiting to fill the Crisler Center that Schlissel has come to embrace early in his transition to Michigan. "I think the great thing about intercollegiate athletics at a place like the University of Michigan is that it's part of the culture; it brings the community togeth- er," Schlissel said. "It's the band, it's the Saturdays in the stadium, it's the feeling the vibration in the stands at a basketball game. I think it's a big piece of the institu- tional culture." Campaign to continue under Schuissel's gaze Letting voices be heard The president is ultimately responsible for important institution-level decisions that take place both in response to activism and otherwise. I don't think it's the responsibility of the president to immediately meet with every group that's upset about something. But I think it is the responsibility of the president to make sure that every group that has concerns that should be known by the administration of the University, has a pathway to make those concerns known. A lot of what I want to do is listen in the first months of my presidency but also on an ongoing basis. I want to find ways not just to engage with students bringing forth an advocacy position, but also more generally with students regarding their experience and their take on the environment of the University overall. After trenendous start, $4B goal to be met under new leadership By YARDAINAMRON and CLAIRE BRYAN Daily StaffReporters When he arrives on campus in July, University President-elect Mark Schlissel will undertake the remainder of the Universi- ty's $4 billion Victors for Michi- gan fundraising campaign - the largest such effort in the history of public higher education. For the past two months, Jerry May, vice president for develop- ment, and his team have been preparing a plan to maintain University President Mary Sue Coleman's relationships with important donors once Schlissel takes over. "We have a national plan to take him to different cities and different groups of donors around the country," May said in an interview Friday morning. "We've set this up for a seamless transition from one president to the other." Over the next year, May has planned meetings with Schlissel and key donors around the coun- try to ease the presidential transi- tion process. Though Schlissel has not had immense experience with fund- raising in his current position as Brown University provost, May said he has experience from his time as dean of biological scienc- es at the University of California, Berkeley. When Schlissel takes office, May said the campaign will have already collected roughly $2 bil- lion - about 50 percent of the campaign's goal. "The most important thing is that a president has is vision and a willingness to listen," May said. "Those are the two qualities he is going to do great at as we move ahead." At a press conference in the MichiganUnionFridaymorning, Schlissel said he understands the importance of fundraising at a public institution like the Uni- versity, and is grateful for his predecessor's skill with donors. "To be honest, I'm very privi- leged because President Coleman has established relationships and a culture where successful alum- ni feel part of the institution and they want to help," Schlissel said. "I feel that my job is transferring to them the excitement of our mission and helping figure out how to take the kinds of things they're interested in and match them to the great things we want to do." In his address, Schlissel also praised the University's commit- ment to affordability, noting the campaign's $1 billion goal for stu- dent support. May said Schlissel has already shownhe has what it takes to lead the remaining phase of the cam- paign. "He is going to come in and listen to them and inspire them and show them things that are important for the rest of this campaign and for this universi- ty," May said. "Like Mary Sue, he has the qualities of being able to listen, he has the qualities of being able to tell a great story, I could just see it today." DESIGN BY KRISTEN CLEGHORN