Mark Schlissel

Mark Schlissel
Born	Mark Steven Schlissel 24 11, 1957
Birthplace	New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Medical scientist, university administrator
Title	14th President of the University of Michigan
Known for	14th President of the University of Michigan

Mark Steven Schlissel (born November 24, 1957) is an American medical scientist and university administrator who served as the 14th president of the University of Michigan from July 1, 2014, to January 15, 2022. A physician-scientist with expertise in immunology and molecular biology, Schlissel came to the presidency from Brown University, where he had served as provost. His tenure at Michigan was marked by significant developments in campus infrastructure, research funding, and institutional policy, but also by controversies surrounding tuition increases, the university's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and labor disputes with graduate student employees. In January 2022, the University of Michigan Board of Regents voted to remove Schlissel from the presidency, citing his involvement in "an inappropriate relationship with a University employee" and conduct that was "inconsistent with promoting the dignity and reputation of the University of Michigan." Despite his removal from the presidency, Schlissel retained faculty appointments at the university, holding professorships in microbiology and immunology, internal medicine, and molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.

Early Life

Mark Steven Schlissel was born on November 24, 1957, in New York City, United States. He was raised in a Jewish family, a background that was noted in local media coverage following his appointment as president of the University of Michigan. Details regarding his parents, siblings, and childhood upbringing are not extensively documented in available public sources.

Education

Schlissel's educational background includes training in both medicine and scientific research. He is a physician-scientist, holding both an M.D. and a Ph.D., which positioned him as a scholar with dual expertise in clinical medicine and laboratory science. His academic training encompassed immunology and molecular biology, fields in which he would go on to build an extensive research career prior to transitioning into university administration.

Career

Early Academic Career

Before entering university administration, Schlissel established himself as a research scientist and faculty member specializing in immunology. His research focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying the immune system, particularly the development of B lymphocytes and the genetic recombination processes that generate antibody diversity. This work earned him recognition in the biomedical sciences community and led to faculty appointments at major research universities.

Schlissel held faculty positions and eventually rose through the administrative ranks at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as dean of biological sciences. His administrative experience at Berkeley prepared him for larger leadership roles in higher education.

Provost of Brown University

Prior to his appointment at the University of Michigan, Schlissel served as provost of Brown University, one of the Ivy League institutions. As provost, he was the chief academic officer of the university, overseeing academic programs, faculty appointments, and research initiatives. His tenure at Brown gave him experience managing a complex research university and navigating the competing demands of undergraduate education, graduate training, and faculty research.

Appointment as President of the University of Michigan

On January 24, 2014, the University of Michigan Board of Regents announced that Schlissel had been selected as the 14th president of the university, succeeding Mary Sue Coleman, who had served in the role since 2002. The appointment was notable in part because Schlissel was the first physician-scientist to lead the University of Michigan, one of the largest and most prominent public research universities in the United States. His background in both medicine and basic science was seen as complementary to the university's strengths in health sciences and biomedical research.

Schlissel formally assumed the presidency on July 1, 2014. His initial contract with the university was for a five-year term, and he subsequently received a second five-year contract that was scheduled to expire in 2024.

Presidency: Key Initiatives and Policies

During his tenure as president, Schlissel oversaw a period of significant activity at the University of Michigan across multiple domains, including research funding, campus sustainability, student access, and international engagement.

Sustainability and Carbon Neutrality

Schlissel engaged with campus sustainability issues during his presidency, including discussions about the university's goals for carbon neutrality. He publicly discussed the complexity of achieving carbon neutrality for a large research institution with substantial energy needs, acknowledging the challenges involved in transitioning the university's operations toward reduced carbon emissions.

The university's approach to climate and sustainability became a point of contention during his tenure. In 2019, climate strike demonstrators held a sit-in at the Fleming Administration Building, the university's main administrative building. The protest resulted in 10 arrests after a rally calling on the university to take more aggressive action on climate change and divestment from fossil fuels. The arrested demonstrators were subsequently charged with trespassing, and their attorney raised concerns over the handling of evidence during final proceedings.

Tuition and Affordability

Under Schlissel's leadership, the University of Michigan continued to be among the most expensive public universities in the United States for out-of-state students. The Board of Regents approved multiple rounds of tuition increases during his presidency, including budget and tuition rate adjustments that required board approval. The rising cost of attendance was a recurring source of criticism from students and some members of the campus community, who argued that the increases placed an undue burden on students and families.

International Engagement

Schlissel pursued international engagement as part of his presidential agenda. In May 2018, he traveled to Seoul, South Korea, to attend the Pan-Asia conference, representing the University of Michigan's interests in strengthening academic partnerships and alumni networks in the Asia-Pacific region.

COVID-19 Pandemic Response

The final years of Schlissel's presidency were dominated by the university's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020. The administration's decisions regarding in-person instruction, campus operations, and public health protocols generated significant controversy among students, faculty, and staff.

In September 2020, the Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO), the labor union representing graduate student instructors and graduate student staff assistants at the University of Michigan, initiated a strike. The strike was prompted by disagreements over the university's plans for in-person classes during the pandemic, with graduate employees demanding stronger health and safety protections, including expanded options for remote instruction and regular COVID-19 testing.

The university administration responded to the strike by seeking a court order to require GEO members to return to work, arguing that the strike was in violation of the union's existing contract. The dispute was ultimately resolved when graduate students accepted the university's latest offer and ended the strike.

During this same period, resident advisers at the university also announced a strike, citing concerns about working conditions and safety during the pandemic.

The administration's handling of the pandemic drew criticism from multiple quarters. Faculty members expressed concerns that the administration had not been sufficiently transparent in its decision-making processes regarding campus reopening and pandemic safety measures. An op-ed published in The Michigan Daily accused the university administration of misleading the campus community about its summer plans.

In September 2020, the University of Michigan Faculty Senate held a vote on a motion of no confidence in President Schlissel. The motion ultimately failed to pass, though the fact that such a vote was held at all reflected the depth of dissatisfaction among portions of the faculty with the administration's pandemic response.

Announcement of Planned Departure

In 2021, Schlissel announced that he planned to step down as president in 2023, one year before his second five-year contract was set to expire in 2024. In public remarks, he discussed the state of higher education, stating that "our children will suffer" because of how society treats higher education, reflecting on the broader challenges facing public universities in the United States.

Removal from the Presidency

On January 15, 2022, the University of Michigan Board of Regents voted to remove Schlissel from the presidency, effective immediately. The board stated that Schlissel had been involved in "an inappropriate relationship with a University employee" and that his conduct was "inconsistent with promoting the dignity and reputation of the University of Michigan." The regents did not publicly specify the precise nature of the relationship or reveal detailed findings from any investigation that led to their decision.

The removal occurred approximately one year before Schlissel had planned to step down voluntarily. The abruptness of his departure created a leadership vacuum at one of the nation's largest public universities. Santa Ono, who had been serving as president of the University of British Columbia, was subsequently named as Schlissel's successor as the 15th president of the University of Michigan.

Post-Presidency

Following his removal from the presidency, Schlissel retained faculty appointments at the University of Michigan, holding professorships in microbiology and immunology, internal medicine within the University of Michigan Health System, and molecular, cellular, and developmental biology in the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

In February 2026, Schlissel was among former University of Michigan presidents interviewed by MLive/The Ann Arbor News regarding the university's selection of Kent Syverud as a future president. Both Schlissel and former president Lee Bollinger shared their perspectives on the selection, with the article noting that former presidents believed Syverud would "do a 'good job'" in the role.

Personal Life

Mark Schlissel is Jewish, a fact that was covered in the Jewish press following his appointment to the University of Michigan presidency in 2014. Specific details about his family life, including information about a spouse or children, are not extensively detailed in available public sources.

Schlissel has resided in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, area during and after his tenure as university president.

Legacy

Schlissel's presidency of the University of Michigan has been the subject of analysis and commentary in the context of broader institutional governance challenges at the university. His removal from the presidency in January 2022 was one of several high-profile leadership departures at the University of Michigan in the 2020s. In December 2025, when Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore was fired amid a separate scandal, media outlets drew connections between the incidents, characterizing them as part of a pattern of institutional challenges at the university. The same law firm that had led the investigation into Schlissel's conduct was retained by the university to investigate matters related to Moore's firing.

USA Today and other outlets noted that before the Moore scandal, the university "had to fire two other high-profile leaders over similar issues," placing Schlissel's removal in a broader narrative about institutional accountability and governance at Michigan.

In a 2025 open letter to the University of Michigan Board of Regents published by Bridge Michigan, journalist and university alumnus James Tobin addressed the regents about the institution's governance and leadership challenges, reflecting the ongoing public debate about the university's direction in the years following Schlissel's departure.

Schlissel's tenure, which encompassed nearly eight years, covered a period of significant national upheaval in higher education, including debates over affordability, campus free expression, climate activism, and the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. His presidency left a complex record, with accomplishments in research and institutional development counterbalanced by the controversies of his final years and the circumstances of his departure.