“Don’t simply accept what your
professors have to say, but question
us.
Approach
our
teachings
like a curious scientist and look
for the facts that underlie our
interpretations and opinions; the
data that leads to our conclusions,”
he said.
Schlissel
graduated
from
Princeton University in 1979 with
a specialty in biochemical sciences.
He earned his M.D. and Ph.D. at the
Johns Hopkins University School
of Medicine in 1986, subsequently
completing his residency at Johns
Hopkins Hospital.
During his academic career,
Schlissel’s research has centered on
development biology, specifically
studying the genetic factors that can
lead to leukemia and lymphoma.
Schlissel attended the special
meeting of the Board of Regents
with his wife Monica Schwebs, who
also received accolades from the
regents. She is an environmental
and energy lawyer at a large
national firm. The couple has four
adult children.
In
a
press
release,
Brown
University
President
Christina
Paxson praised Schlissel’s work in
his position as provost.
“Mark is an exceptional scholar,
teacher
and
academic
leader,”
Paxson wrote. “He has been an
esteemed and valued colleague to
many here at Brown. His many
contributions will be realized for
decades to come.”
Paxson
said
Schlissel
led
several searches for administrative
positions
for
Brown’s
faculty,
including the search for its vice
president of research and its dean
of medicine and biological sciences.
The
University
has
several
dean
searches
underway
as
Schlissel
makes
his
transition
into the presidency, including the
appointment of the LSA dean and
the vice president for research,
currently held by Susan Gelman and
Jack Hu, respectively, in interim
positions.
At
Brown,
Schlissel
helped
lead a new strategic initiative
titled “Building on Distinction: A
New Plan for Brown.” The plan
established goals for investment in
academic programs, scholarships
and campus expansion.
The four goals of the campaign
include integrative scholarship,
educational
leadership,
academic excellence and campus
development.
The
plans
are
designed to be implemented over
the course of the next 10 years.
While a dean at UC-Berkeley,
Schlissel also spearheaded a cross-
campus cost containment and
procurement initiative — efforts
which have also been underway
at the University for the past few
years.
In an article by the Daily
Herald,
Schlissel
detailed
changes in Brown’s curriculum
development. One of the projects
Schlissel
championed
includes
the implementation of a theme for
the school’s International Studies
program.
However, Brown’s faculty raised
several concerns about the strategic
plan. Paxson and Schlissel created
forums to address their questions,
including questions of heightening
student enrollment to alleviate
increasing tuition costs.
“We are a very tuition-dependent
university,” Schlissel said. “The
idea is to strike the right balance,
to hit the sweet spot without giving
up the kind of highly interactive
mode of education that makes the
undergraduate program so special
to allow us to get to the scale where
we can capture efficiencies.”
In a short speech after his
appointment, Schlissel expressed
excitement
about
joining
the
University community.
“I am amazingly honored to
be chosen to lead a jewel of the
American educational system,” he
said. “The University of Michigan
is held in such regard. Words almost
escape me.”
November 16, 2016 - Nearly
a thousand people gathered on
the Diag and marched through
University of Michigan buildings
for a student walk-out protest
against racism on campus following
President-elect Donald Trump’s
upset win Wednesday afternoon,
briefly shutting down traffic.
The
walkout,
which
was
organized
by
the
student
organization
Students4Justice,
was also attended by civil rights
activist Rev. Jesse Jackson and
was part of a national movement of
walkouts across the country.
“This walkout is a national
movement that is happening in
response to the election, as well
as the increase in hate crimes and
other forms of violence against
marginalized (folks).” the event
description says. “We are doing
this to hold President Schlissel
and our Regents at the University
of Michigan accountable for their
claims of valuing diversity and
student safety and well-being.”
Prior
to
the
event,
Students4Justice also released a
list of demands that they hoped to
achieve from the protest.
The demands include calls
for University action to protect
underrepresented
minority
students
by
re-channeling
resources, as well as a call for
the University to become an
immigrant
sanctuary
site,
to
double its commitment to rejecting
racial harassment, to divest from
unethical corporations and to
remove all symbols and fliers
associated
with
the
alt-right
movement and those encouraging
white supremacy.
LSA junior Lakyrra Magee, one
of the event organizers, highlighted
the call to make the University a
sanctuary campus — a designation
that would empower the University
to limit institutional cooperation
with federal immigration officers
seeking undocumented students—
as among the most significant
demands.
“Our main message was this:
Because
President
Schlissel
came out and said he cared about
diversity
and
marginalized
students, we are here to show so
many students at the University,
people who are living in Ann Arbor,
support the University of Michigan
becoming a sanctuary campus,”
she said. “And if President Schlissel
really cared about (protecting)
marginalized students, this is one
concrete way he can do it besides
showing up.”
Protesters also cited a number
of recent campus concerns during
the walkout, including the two hate
crimes in downtown Ann Arbor
that have been reported to police
since Trump’s presidential win
last week. On Friday, a woman was
threatened and forced to remove
her hijab. On Saturday, a woman
was pushed down a hill and verbally
harassed.
Additionally,
many
speakers discussed anti-Black, anti-
LGBTQ and anti-Muslim posters,
many of them promoting themes
of white supremacy, that have been
found posted on campus several
times in the past few months.
LSA junior Alyiah Al-Bonijim
spoke to the crowd about her
frustrations with Islamophobic
comments triggered by her choice
to wear a hijab.
“For what? Because you want
to see my hair? Is that what is
important to these fucking white
people?” Al-Bonijim asked the
cheering crowd, saying that forcing
a woman to take off her clothing,
including the hijab, was sexual
assault.
Protesters also touched on
the failure of a Central Student
Government resolution Tuesday
night to divest from corporations
that have allegedly committed
human rights violations against
Palestinians. Many in the crowd
yelled negative chants about CSG
during the walkout.
Following their initial assembly
on the Diag at 3 p.m., with many
students walking directly out of
classes, the protesters marched
throughout Central Campus, also
entering buildings and encouraging
others to join them.
As the march moved through
campus, student organizers, as
well as Jackson, led the crowd in
a number of chants condemning
racism, sexism, islamophobia and
xenophobia.
Chants included slogans such
as: “No justice, no peace,” “Hey
Hey, Ho Ho, these racist folks have
got to go,” “No Alt-Right, no KKK,
no fascist USA” and “Black Lives
Matter.”
“Thanks for stepping up and
fighting back,” Jackson told the
crowd. “Do not let any election
oppress your dreams … Red,
yellow, black and white, you are all
precious in God’s sight. We must
learn to live together. This land is a
land of multiculturalism.”
Chanting
with
the
crowd,
he
expressed
solidarity
with
individuals
who
have
felt
marginalized in the past months,
including
Black,
Muslim
and
Mexican-American students.
“We are all sanctuary,” he said.
“We love each other. We care for
each other. You take one of us, you
must take all of us. We are not going
anywhere. This land is our land.
We will outlast the meanness, we
will outlast hate. We will outlast
violence. Love will conquer hate.”
After walking through several
buildings, a brief moment of silence
was held at Burton Memorial
Tower, during which students told
stories about their own personal
struggles. At the end of the walkout,
organizers
asked
for
white
supporters to block State Street so
protesters could safely gather at
Angell Hall for a speakout.
January 24, 2014 - Mark
Schlissel,
Brown
University’s
provost, will succeed University
President Mary Sue Coleman as
the University of Michigan’s 14th
president. His term will begin July 1.
The decision was unanimously
approved
by
the
University’s
Board of Regents at a special
meeting Friday morning in the
Michigan Union’s Kuenzel Room.
The announcement arrives after
a presidential search committee
spent much of the summer and
fall gathering input from faculty
and students and the assistance of
Russell Reynolds Associates, an
executive search advisory firm.
Schlissel will receive a base
salary of $750,000 per year with an
annual increase determined by the
regents. His contract runs for five
years. Coleman currently receives
$603,000 per year in her role, but
has denied an increase several years
in a row.
Schlissel began his term as
provost at Brown in 2011 after
serving as the University of
California-Berkeley’s
dean
of
biological sciences from 2008 to
2011. As provost, Schlissel serves
as Brown’s chief academic officer
and deputy to the president. In his
current role, Schlissel manages
the day-to-day operations of the
institution and oversees Brown’s
strategic planning.
In a press conference after the
regents approved the appointment,
Schlissel addressed the challenges
he expects to face as the next
president,
including
enhancing
diversity on campus, increasing
affordability
and
developing
relationships with potential donors
to the University.
Schlissel
said
his
biggest
challenge will be engaging with
students, faculty and staff on
campus, adding that he has a lot to
learn since he has never worked at
the University.
“In my experience, universities
really don’t get led top-down,” he
said. “The best ideas come from the
people who do the teaching and the
learning, so that’s why I need to do
some listening first.”
While Schlissel will face many
issues in his transition, one of the
most prominent matters he will
address is the demand for larger
minority enrollment and inclusion
at the University.
“You can’t achieve excellence
as an academic institution without
being diverse because we live in a
world where people can look at the
same set of facts and interpret them
differently from each other,” he said.
In
addition
to
diversity,
Schlissel appealed to a wide scope
of the constituencies, citing the
University’s
alumni
and
staff
members as well as the Ann Arbor
community, in addition to the
expected listing of faculty, students
and regents.
He also noted the University’s
stature as a public institution —
despite the challenges of declining
state funding — as a key draw to the
University.
“Another thing that made me
say Michigan is a place I really have
to look at is my feeling about the
role education can play in solving
society’s problems,” Schlissel said.
“And it’s not that we don’t do this
at great private university — we
do — but there’s something about
the openness and the accessibility
of a public universities that’s
really special and it drew at my
heartstrings.”
Coleman
lauded
Schlissel’s
experience and qualifications as the
next president of the University.
“I’ve often said the job of being
president at the University of
Michigan is the best job in the
country,” she said. “I couldn’t be
more pleased to know that you, as
the 14th president, will experience
this firsthand.”
Before
approving
Schlissel’s
appointment as president, each
regent lauded his qualifications for
the position.
“This is a great day for the
University of Michigan. We go today
from strength to strength; from one
great leader, Mary Sue Coleman,
to another, Mark Schlissel,” said
University Regent Mark Bernstein
(D–Ann Arbor).
Bernstein
recalled
Schlissel’s
answer to one of the central
questions that faced the search
committee: What makes a great
university president?
“You have to love and be amazed
by students. You have to love and
be amazed by faculty. You have to
love and be amazed by research and
discovery.”
In an interview after the press
conference,
University
Provost
Martha Pollack, who will perhaps
work most closely with the new
president,
praised
Schlissel’s
academic record, as well as his
interest in faculty and research
and commitment to diversity and
affordability.
“You heard the regents talk
about him having great ethics,
great values and a great heart —
that’s just the combination you
want,” Pollack said.
She added that she will have
a one-on-one meeting with the
president-elect Friday afternoon as
she begins to share knowledge and
understand how to best work with
him.
Though
this
was
her
first
introduction to the University’s 14th
president, E. Royster Harper, vice
president for student life, said she
saw Schlissel as someone who could
build on Coleman’s strengths.
“Regent Bernstein said it just
right — we’re going from strength
to strength,” Harper said. “I love the
fact that he is so student-centered,
because our students are used to
that and deserve that.”
Schlissel will also direct the
remainder
of
the
University’s
Victors for Michigan development
campaign, which aims to raise $4
billion in funds.
Jerry May, vice president for
development,
said
he
thinks
Schlissel
will
easily
form
relationships with donors as he
prepares to raise about half of the
campaign goal. May also called
attention to Schlissel’s apparent
willingness to listen and ability to
form a vision for the University.
“He is articulate, he is real, he
is genuine, he has an incredible
pedigree,”
May
said.
“I
was
astounded that he could answer
things as if he’s been on this campus
for months. The alumni and donors
are going to love him. The instinct
that I’ve seen today is that this is a
no-brainer. This guy is going to do
great.”
When Schlissel arrived at Brown
in 2011, he gave a convocation
address which called on students to
channel synergies across disciplines,
a theme that he echoed in his first
address as president-elect.
12 — Friday, September 15, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Bicentennial
Students hold walkout with Rev. Jesse Jackson
demanding University action against racism
Brown University Provost Mark Schlissel selected as next University president
KEVIN ZHENG/Daily
University President Mark Schlissel
TIMOTHY COHN AND
NISA KHAN
Daily Staff Reporter
JEN CALFAS AND
SAM GRINGLAS
Managing News Editor and
Daily News Editor
COURTESY OF HUEI PENG
“The Bicentennial celebration
reminds me what all great
universities share in common:
relentless drive to innovate and
reinvent — which is what we
will continue to do at Mcity.”
Huei Peng, Director of Mcity
FE ATURE D PEOPLE
“To me the U-M Bicentennial
means recognizing the rich
legacy that I am apart of. It
means carrying with me the
pride of knowing that I have
genuinely contributed to the
progress of this institution as
countless others have done
before me.”
LSA senior Mariah Smith,
National Pan-Hellenic Council,
Inc.
EVAN AARON/Daily
2013 — #BBUM
hashtag launched
2015 — Mcity founded
2017 — Nearly 11,000 people
participate in Ann Arbor Women’s
March following the inauguration of
Donald J. Trump
2017 — U-M celebrates Bicentennial
2015 — U-M announces creation of HAIL scholarship
to attract low-income high-achieving students from
underserved communities
2016 — University updates sexual misconduct policy to
address student concerns
2014 — Jim Harbaugh named new U-M
football coach