Mary Sue Coleman

August 1, 2002
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ANN ARBORMary Sue Coleman has become the 13th president of the University of Michigan, effective August 1. Coleman served as president of the University of Iowa since 1995 and was a professor of biochemistry in Iowa’s College of Medicine and professor of biological sciences in the College of Liberal Arts. Laurence Deitch, President of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, said, “Coleman is a national leader in higher education, and was quite simply the best candidate in an extraordinary field. We are fortunate to have her.” Coleman said. “The presidency of the University of Michigan is the pinnacle of public higher education. I am looking forward to this opportunity to work with the faculty, staff and students of this great university.” Under Coleman’s leadership at Iowa, the university increased research funding from $178 million to over $300 million, and increased total annual giving from $82 million to $172 million. She also oversaw major construction projects in liberal arts, medicine, engineering, biology, fine arts, honors center, career center, athletics and recreation, and parking. In addition to the presidency of Iowa, Coleman has held posts as provost and vice president for academic affairs (1993-95) at the University of New Mexico, and vice chancellor for graduate studies and research (1992-93) and associate provost and dean of research (1990-92) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She served for 19 years as a member of the biochemistry faculty and as a Cancer Center administrator at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, where her research focused on the immune system and malignancies. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine in 1997, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She co-chairs the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance. Her extensive leadership positions in higher education include serving on the Association of American Universities (AAU) executive committee, the American Council on Education (ACE) board of directors, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) board of directors, and the Knight Commission. She also has served on the board of trustees of Grinnell College; board of trustees of the Universities Research Association; ACE Task Force on Teacher Education and Commission on Minorities in Higher Education; Business-Higher Education Forum; Imagining America President’s Council; AAU Task Force on Research Accountability; NCAA Standards for Success Advisory Board; and Presidents Leadership Group of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. Coleman earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Grinnell College and her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina. She conducted postdoctoral work at North Carolina and at the University of Texas at Austin. She is married to Kenneth Coleman, a political scientist specializing in Latin America. They have one son, Jonathan, who is a portfolio manager for the Janus Capital Corporation in Denver, Colo. Founded in 1817, the University of Michigan has been the national model for the large public university for more than a century. With a diverse campus population of more than 53,000 students and 5,200 faculty, it has 19 schools, colleges, and divisions in Ann Arbor, four in Dearborn, and four in Flint. The U-M’s total 2001-2002 operating budget for all three campuses is $3.8 billion. Its research expenditures – more than $545 million in fiscal year 2000 – are the highest among public universities in the United States. The U-M’s endowment was valued at $3.5 billion as of University received $218,114,224 in gifts, surpassing for the second year in a row the $200 million mark in fundraising. The U-M has 424,000 living degree holders, the largest alumni body of any college or university. A downloadable high-resolution photo is available online here. Meet Mary Sue Coleman >> President’s Office >> Mary Sue Coleman appearances >>  

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