Statement by Mary Sue Coleman on U-M interim appointment

Jan. 16, 2022

While saddened by the circumstances, I am honored to be asked to again serve the University of Michigan. 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.

Mary Sue Coleman background:

Mary Sue Coleman is a biochemist who built a distinguished career through research before rising sharply through the ranks of higher education administration. Before coming to U-M she was president of the University of Iowa (1995-2002). She served as 12 years as U-M president (2002-2014) and was the first woman appointed as U-M president.

After retiring from U-M, she served as president of the Association of American Universities (2016-2020), an association of America’s leading research universities based in Washington, D.C. Mary Sue Coleman Hall, named in her honor, is the only academic building on the Ann Arbor campus named for a woman. The building is home to the Life Sciences Institute.