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Vol. CXXX, No. 63
©2022 The Michigan Daily

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UMich President dismissed at closed-door Regents meeting due to “inappropriate relationship” with subordinate

University 
of 
Michigan 

President 
Mark 
Schlissel 

has 
been 
fired 
effective 

immediately 
following 
an 

internal investigation revealing 
Schlissel’s 
inappropriate 

behavior with a subordinate at 
the University, according to a 
Saturday press release from the 
Board of Regents. 

The decision was made at 

a closed-door Board meeting 
Saturday morning without a 
public vote after the board 
hired a third party investigator 
to determine whether or not 
Schlissel’s actions as president 
had violated the University’s 
supervisor relationship policy.

“It is with great disappointment 

that we announce that the 
University of Michigan Board of 
Regents has removed Dr. Mark 
Schlissel as President of the 
University of Michigan, effective 
immediately,” the Regents wrote 
in a Saturday press release.

The 
policy, 
which 
was 

introduced 
in 
July 
2021, 

states that “a Supervisor may 
not, 
implicitly 
or 
explicitly, 

initiate or attempt to initiate 
an Intimate Relationship with 
a Supervisee over whom they 
exercise supervisory authority,” 
and was implemented in July 
2021 
following 
allegations 

former Provost Martin Philbert 
had used his position to coerce 
women into sexual relationships. 

The firing comes after an 

anonymous complaint submitted 
on Dec. 8. revealed Schlissel 
had been in an inappropriate 

relationship with a University 
employee. 
A 
subsequent 

investigation 
was 
performed 

which found he had used his 
University 
email 
account 
to 

inappropriately 
communicate 

with said employee. 

Schlissel’s existing contract 

contained a morals clause which 
stated his behavior as President 
“be consistent with promoting 
the 
dignity, 
reputation, 
and 

academic 
excellence 
of 
the 

University.” 

The regents also released a 

letter transmitted to Schlissel 
informing him of his termination 
Saturday after the vote. In 
it, the regents outlined their 
justification 
for 
firing 
him, 

citing 
messages 
sent 
from 

his 
University 
email 
to 
a 

subordinate. Because the regents 
fired Schlissel for cause, he will 
no longer receive the golden 
parachute he and the regents 
negotiated when he announced 
he would resign in 2023.

Schlissel 
had 
previously 

provoked the regents’ ire for 
failing 
to 
to 
communicate 

with the board regarding the 
Detroit Center for Innovation. 
Talks 
broke 
down 
between 

donor Stephen M. Ross and Dan 
Gilbert, who owned the site. 
An anonymous administration 
official who spoke to the Detroit 
Free Press said the regents felt 
Schlissel left them in the dark as 
negotiations faltered.

In 
October, 
Schlissel 

announced that he would be 
stepping down from the job in 
June 2023, a year earlier than 
planned. The Detroit Free Press at 
the time categorized his stepping 
down early as a deal between the 

members of the board who were 
satisfied and dissatisfied with 
his performance. 

The decision was announced 

Saturday night. A press release 
from the University announced 
president 
emerita 
Mary 
Sue 

Coleman will serve as interim 
president. Coleman served as 
president from 2002 until 2014. 

In a statement posted to 

the Board of Regents website, 
Coleman wrote she was sad to 
learn of the allegations against 
Schlissel but was honored to once 
again be leading the University.

“While 
saddened 
by 
the 

circumstances, I am honored 
to be asked to again serve 
the University of Michigan,” 
Coleman wrote. “When I left the 
U-M campus at the end of my 
presidency in 2014, I said serving 
this great university was the 
most rewarding experience of 
my professional life. I’m happy 
to serve again in this important 
interim role.” 

The 
University 
hired 
the 

private law firm Jenner & Block 
to continue the investigation into 
Schlissel’s behavior. According to 
the Detroit Free Press, the firm 
is also investigating whether 
Schlissel 
misused 
University 

funds to support his relationship 
with the unnamed subordinate.

In an email obtained by the 

Michigan Daily addressed to 
LSA employees Saturday night, 
LSA Dean Anne Curzan wrote 
she would be meeting with 
fellow deans and senior leaders 
tomorrow and will communicate 
additional updates in the coming 
days.

Curzan 
wrote 
Schlissel’s 

firing reinforced to need for 

sexual misconduct prevention on 
campus.

“As I process this news, it only 

strengthens 
my 
commitment 

to continuing the work we 
have been undertaking in the 
college, with the wise, research-
informed 
guidance 
of 
the 

Preventing Sexual Harassment 
Working Group,” Curzan wrote. 
“It is essential.”

Jonathan 
Vaughn, 
former 

University football and notable 

survivor of the late Doctor Robert 
Anderson who has been camped 
outside of Schlissel’s house for 
nearly 100 days in protest of the 
University’s handling of sexual 
misconduct tweeted Schlissel’s 
firing would help create a safer 
campus. 

“This news is fuel for my 

mission: the safety & protection 
of the students of this university,” 
Vaughn wrote. “After 99 days of 
being ignored in front of former 

President 
Mark 
Schlissel’s 

home, the regents finally made 
1 good choice. But there must be 
many more if U-M is to be fully 
accountable.” 

Daily Staff Reporter Michal 

Ruprecht and Daily News Editor 
Roni Kane contributed reporting.

Daily 
News 
Editor 
George 

Weykamp can be reached at 
gweykamp@umich.edu

 ‘It’s a long time coming:’ 
U-M students rally in front 
of presidential residence

GEORGE WEYKAMP

Daily News Editor

 Over 100 community members gather outside 

South University home following 

‘U’ leader’s termination

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, January 19, 2022

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

LSA 
freshman 
Jack 

Thompson 
was 
one 

of the first students to 
arrive outside of former 
University President Mark 
Schlissel’s residence after 
news broke that he had 
been fired by the Board 
of Regents on Saturday. 
With 
a 
saxophone 
in 

hand, he satirically played 
George Michael’s “Careless 
Whisper” and the classic 
Big House anthem “Mr. 
Brightside” by The Killers 
as 
fellow 
protesters 

gradually gathered and 
cheered around him.

“I live in East Quad, 

and my friends and I were 
sitting in a lounge and I 
said, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if 
we stopped by and brought 
an instrument?’ And we’ve 
kind of amassed a bit of a 
group here,” Thompson 
said. 

Over 
100 
students 

gathered 
outside 
the 

President’s 
House 
on 

Saturday evening following 
the report of Schlissel’s 
termination by the Board 
of Regents earlier this 
afternoon. 
Schlissel 

was fired for engaging 

in 
an 
“inappropriate 

relationship” 
with 

a 
subordinate 
at 
the 

University as early as 
Sept. 2019. In Dec. 2021, 
an anonymous complaint 
was filed which led to an 
internal investigation into 
Schlissel’s behavior. 

The 
investigation 

revealed 
inappropriate 

emails sent from Schlissel’s 
U-M email account to the 
subordinate, referred to 
as Individual 1. Schlissel’s 
emails contained an article 
related to sexual fantasies, 
details of travelling to 
California and Paris with 
Individual 1 as well as other 
inappropriate 
comments 

related to their relationship. 
 
 

“It’s 
recently 
been 

revealed that (Schlissel) 
had an affair with a staff 
member, and that’s not 
really a good thing when 
you’re the president of one 
of the biggest schools in the 
country,” Thompson said. 
“Kind of makes a mockery 
of our name. So I’d like to 
return the favor a little bit.”

As Thompson continued 

to play into the night, more 
students joined in and 
began chanting “Show your 
face!” and “Mark, are you 
home?” at the only window 
with its blinds half open 
on his house. Cars driving 
by frequently honked as 
students cheered in return 

as Mr. Brightside and Pump 
it Up filled the background. 
One protester held a “Can 
I have a private briefing?” 
sign in reference to one of 
the emails Schlissel sent to 
the subordinate. 

“I love performing and 

it’s a really good chance 
to kind of get a crowd out 
here,” Thompson said. “I 
feel terrible for his family. 
I can’t believe that he 
actually 
did 
something 

in such a high position 
of power. I mean, that’s 
simply an abuse of power. 
And 
that’s 
something 

that I don’t think any of 
the students in Michigan 
would stand for.”

The last time the Board 

of Regents dismissed a 
president was in 1863, 
when former University 
President Henry Philip 
Tappan was dismissed due 
to “difficulties with the 
regents on matters both 
of policy and personality,” 
according to the Bentley 
Historical Library.

LSA 
sophomore 

Neil Peterson came to 
Schlissel’s 
house 
with 

fellow Residential College 
students 
who 
brought 

instruments. 
Peterson 

brought his trumpet to 
have a “celebration.”

 

MARTHA LEWAND, 
MATTHEW SHAN-

BOM, & 

ANNA FIFELSKI 
Daily Staff Reporters

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Emails, texts released between 

University head, anonymous employee 

in internal investigation

118-page document details improper messages dating back to September 2019

Emails 
from 
former 

University 
of 
Michigan 

President 
Mark 
Schlissel 

were released in a 118-page 
document Saturday evening, 
detailing 
inappropriate 

communication 
with 
a 

subordinate at the University. 
The emails were revealed 
as 
part 
of 
an 
internal 

investigation into Schlissel’s 
behavior, ultimately leading 
to his firing.

The investigation revealed 

a series of communication 
between Schlissel and an 
unnamed 
subordinate, 

identified 
in 
the 
emails 

as 
“Individual 
1,” 
which 

disclosed 
multiple 
emails 

between 
the 
two 
dating 

back to Sept. 2019 in which 
Schlissel sent the employee 
an article by the New Yorker 
entitled “Sexual Fantasies of 
Everyday New Yorkers.” In 
that email, Schlissel told the 
employee the article was “just 
for fun.” 

The 
emails 
also 
detail 

several trips Schlissel and the 
employee went on together, 
including one to California 
and 
another 
to 
Europe. 

The 
emails 
also 
include 

receipts for dinner and movie 
reservations. 

The regents also released a 

letter sent to Schissel outlining 
the causes for his termination 

of 
employment, 
including 

exchanging 
inappropriate 

emails with Individual 1 using 
his official U-M account.

In one exchange on July 

1, 2021, Individual 1 wrote 
to Schlissel saying that her 
“heart 
hurts,” 
to 
which 

Schlissel responded with “i 
know. mine too.” Schlissel 
also wrote to the individual 
that “this is my fault,” that 
he is “in pain too” and that he 
still wishes he “were strong 
enough to find a way.”

Schlissel also responded 

to Individual 1’s official U-M 
email address on Jan. 9, 2021 
with “Love it when you say 
that.” Schlissel made a similar 
remark on April 25, 2020, 
according to the regents’ 
letter.

The regents cite another 

instance on Nov. 4, 2021, 
in 
which 
Schlissel 
was 

scheduled to attend a U-M 
basketball game as part of his 
official duties as president. 
On that day, Schlissel wrote 
to Individual 1 saying that 
“the only reason I agreed to 
go was to go with you. there 
is a conspiracy against me.” 
According to the regents, 
Schlissel was not able to sit 
next to Individual 1, prompting 
his “disappointment.” 

On Dec. 3, 2021, Schlissel 

also wrote Individual 1 about 
the Big Ten Championship 
“President’s 
Suite 
briefing 

Info,” to which he said “You 
can give me a private briefing.”

The 
emails 
also 
detail 

various gifts Schlissel sent 
to Individual 1, including a 
matching set of gifts and U-M 
facemasks for both of them.

The emails also reveal 

Schlissel and Individual 1 
took several trips together, 
including one to India. The 
trip connected through Paris, 
prompting 
an 
exchange 

between Individual 1 and 
Schlissel about a hypothetical 
situation 
in 
the 
city 
if 

their flight were canceled, 
writing “What if we miss our 
connection and get stuck in 
Paris…” It is unclear if this trip 
was for University business or 
personal reasons.

Schlissel and the employee 

also exchanged texts over 
iMessage, which were also 
included in the document. 

“I am looking forward to 

seeing you later. That thought 
will get me through (sic) day,” 
Schlissel texted Individual 1 
on June 30, 2021. 

The emails come after 

the University updated it’s 
sexual misconduct policy in 
Sept. 2021, which included 
more concrete definitions of 
misconduct, clarifications on 
ways to report misconduct 
and outlines for procedures in 
addressing sexual and gender-
based misconduct allegations. 

Schlissel’s term was filled 

with 
instances 
of 
sexual 

misconduct 
investigations 

among 
University 
faculty 

and staff, including former 
Provost Martin Philbert, who 
was the second-in-command 

below Schlissel. 

In 
Nov. 
2020, 
the 

University 
reached 
a 

settlement with eight women 
who were sexually assaulted 
by Philbert, who had a history 
of sexually harassing female 
employees and having sexual 
relationships 
in 
university 

offices. 
The 
settlement 

came after an investigation 
conducted by WilmerHale, 
which 
found 
“significant 

evidence” 
that 
Philbert 

violated 
the 
University’s 

sexual misconduct policy. 

In addition to the Philbert 

case, more than 950 survivors 
have come forward alleging 
thousands of instances of 
sexual misconduct in what 
may be the most instances 
of misconduct by a single 
person 
in 
U.S. 
history. 

Anderson 
survivor 
and 

former U-M football player 
Jonathan Vaughn is running 
for the Board of Regents, 
with his campaign speaking 
against Schlissel’s response 
to victims. He has been 
camping outside of President 
Schlissel’s house since Oct. 8, 
protesting the president’s lack 
of response to his and other 
survivors’ demands.

Daily Staff Reporters Anna 

Fifelski and George Weykamp 
 
umich.edu and gweykamp@
umich.edu, Daily News Editor 
Kate Weiland and Managing 
News Editors Dominic Coletti 
and Kristina Zheng contributed 
reporting.

NEWS

GEORGE WEYKAMP & 

ANNA FIFELSKI 

Daily News Editor, Daily Staff 

Reporter

SCHLISSEL FIRED

GRACE BEAL/Daily

