Mark Schlissel

Mark Steven Schlissel (born November 24, 1957) is the president of the University of Michigan.[1] He was named the 14th president of the university on July 1, 2014, following the retirement of Mary Sue Coleman.[2][3] His initial contract with the University of Michigan lasted five years,[4] and he is currently in his second five-year contract, which is due to expire in 2024.[5] He is the only University of Michigan President to have had a successful motion of no confidence passed against him by the faculty senate as a result of his mismanagement of the pandemic and anti-gay comments he made in his attempt to justify his administration's negligence.[6]

Mark Schlissel
14th President of the University of Michigan
Assumed office
July 1, 2014
Preceded byMary Sue Coleman
Personal details
Born
Mark Steven Schlissel

(1957-11-24) November 24, 1957
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)Monica Schwebs
Alma materPrinceton University (BA)
Johns Hopkins University (MD-PhD)
WebsiteOffice of the President

In addition to his presidency, he holds a professorship of microbiology and immunology and a professorship of internal medicine within the University of Michigan Health System as well as a professorship of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology in the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

Biography

Schlissel was born in Brooklyn, New York in a traditional Jewish household.[4][7] He graduated from Madison Central High School in 1975 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Old Bridge High School in 2017.[8]

He graduated with a BA in Biochemical Sciences from Princeton University in 1979. He earned his MD degree and a PhD in Physiological Chemistry from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1986 through the Medical Scientist Training Program. His residency in Internal Medicine was conducted at the Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1986 to 1988. His postdoctoral research fellowship was under David Baltimore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Whitehead Institute.[1]

Schlissel became a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1991. He moved to the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley in 1999 as an associate professor, becoming a full professor in 2002.[1] At UC Berkeley he served as Dean of Biological Sciences in the College of Letters & Science from 2008 to 2011. In 2011 he became provost at Brown University.[3]

Under Mark Schlissel, the University of Michigan's tuition has risen to the highest of any American public university.[9][10][11]

Schlissel is married to Monica Schwebs, an environmental and energy lawyer, and has four children.[3]

Controversies

The beginning of his career as president of the University of Michigan has involved controversy surrounding the athletics department[12] and a federal investigation into the Brendan Gibbons sexual assault case.[13]

In 2018, John Cheney-Lippold, an associate professor of American culture, declined to write a letter of recommendation for a student applying to study abroad in Israel, citing human rights concerns and his support for the BDS movement. In response, Cheney-Lippold was put on probation, had his pay cut, and had his subsequent vacation days cancelled. The university and Mark Schlissel were criticized for disciplining him, citing a breach of free speech, the right to boycott, and professorial independence.[14][15]

Mark Schlissel has come into conflict with climate activists over his support for continuing University investment in oil and gas industries.[16] In 2018, in response to continued refusal to meet with climate activists, students organized a sit-in at Mark Schlissel's office in the evening following the Global Climate Strike to demand a 1-hour meeting with Schlissel.[17] In response, University of Michigan Police were called in by an unknown administrative source to disperse the protests. Following repeated threats, several students were arrested and were subsequently charged with trespassing on university property. There has been a significant backlash to this decision, and there are continued calls for charges to be dropped against the protesters, citing the non-violent nature of the protest, the withholding of evidence by university lawyers, and the fact that the University of Michigan had never previously pursued trespassing charges against students.[18][19][20]

COVID-19 response

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Schlissel and other administrators were criticized for their plans and policies to reopen the University of Michigan for the Fall 2020 semester. Criticisms from faculty, staff, and students included the administration's lack of transparency about its plans to safely reopen the campus. Beginning in July 2020, a leaked memo to Schlissel from the university Ethics and Privacy Committee spread around campus, asserting that the administration's reopening plans did not meet safety guidelines. Additionally, rumors and speculation circulated around the university, including an anonymously authored op-ed in The Michigan Daily which made the claim that a member of the board of regents had influenced the university's reopening decision because he stood to profit from a return to in-person classes.[21] The claim could not be substantiated, and the regent in question denied the allegations.[22]

On September 8, 2020, the university's graduate student employee union authorized a work stoppage because of concerns with Schlissel's reopening plans and policies.[23] It was the union's first strike since 1975.[24] On September 9, more than 100 resident advisors went on strike at the university.[25] On September 14, Schlissel announced that the university was taking legal action to force striking university workers to return to work.[26] On September 16, the graduate student union membership voted to accept a deal from university, ending the strike and returning to work the following day.[27]

On September 16, 2020, the University of Michigan Faculty Senate convened to consider a motion of no confidence in the university's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Schlissel's leadership. While the motion concerning the pandemic response failed to pass with 915 in favor, 991 against, and 198 recorded abstentions,[28] the motion of no confidence in Schlissel's leadership passed by a margin of four votes, with 957 in favor, 953 against, and 184 recorded abstentions. It was the first time in the University of Michigan's history that a no confidence motion had passed against a president. However, the motion was largely symbolic because Schlissel was accountable to the board of regents, not the faculty senate.[6] The following day, the board of regents unanimously voiced support for Schlissel and the administration's handling of the pandemic and the university's reopening.[29]

References
  1. Jesse, David (January 24, 2013). "Mark Schlissel, provost at Brown University, named new U-M president". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  2. "Schlissel named U. Michigan president". Brown Daily Herald. January 24, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  3. Biolchini, Amy (January 24, 2014). "Meet Mark Schlissel: 10 things to know about University of Michigan's next president". MLive. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  4. Pinho, Kirk (January 24, 2014). "New UM President Schlissel 'amazingly honored' to be chosen as Coleman's successor". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  5. "Univ. of Michigan President Getting $852K Salary & Contract Extension". WKAR-FM. September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  6. Jesse, David (September 18, 2020). "U-M faculty now says it approved no-confidence vote against President Mark Schlissel". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  7. Burdick Schweiger, Alice. "Bluish and Jewish". The Detroit Jewish News. The Detroit Jewish News. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  8. Luicci, Lori. "Old Bridge names 3 to Wall of Fame", Courier News, May 25, 2017. Accessed October 6, 2019. "The three new members of the Wall of Fame are William Boland (Madison Central Class of 1988, Ted Maines (Madison Central Class of 1976) and Mark Schlissel (Madison Central, Class of 1975). Boland and Maines attended the annual ceremony. Schlissel, who was named the 14th president of the University of Michigan in 2014, was unable to attend."
  9. Heytutor. "The Most Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Residents". Heytutor. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  10. Tharakan, Danyel. "Regents approve budget and tuition rates, appoint new LSA dean". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  11. Pompeii, Alexandria. "University increases tuition, room and board rates". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  12. "Schlissel may be ill-prepared for Michigan football crisis". Freep.com. September 30, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  13. "55 colleges under Title IX probe for handling of sexual violence and harassment claims". WashingtonPost.com. May 1, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  14. "UM disciplines prof over Israel letter controversy". Detroit News.
  15. Harb, Ali. "University of Michigan faces mounting criticism over BDS controversy". Middle East Eye. Middle East Eye. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  16. Merchant, Safiya. "Schlissel discusses complexity of carbon neutrality goals". The University Record. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  17. Allberry, Hannah. "Climate strike sit-in at Fleming results in 10 arrests after rally". The Michigan Daily. University of Michigan. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  18. Harring, Alex. "Climate Strike demonstrators' attorney raises concerns over evidence during final pretrial". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  19. Clark, Nathan. "Climate Strike protesters arrested at University of Michigan sit-in charged with trespassing". MLive. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  20. Allberry, Hannah. "Climate strike sit-in at Fleming results in 10 arrests after rally". The Michigan Daily. University of Michigan. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  21. Anonymous (August 27, 2020). "Op-Ed: The University's summer of lies". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  22. Burke, Lilah (September 4, 2020). "Consultation Theater". Inside Higher Ed. Mark Belles. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  23. Terranella, Slone (September 8, 2020). "University of Michigan graduate instructors hit the picket line". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  24. Ross, McKenna (September 7, 2020). "University of Michigan's graduate student union to strike against in-person classes". MLive.com. MLive Media Group. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  25. Duong, Francesca; Sokotoff, Dominick; Hao, Claire (September 9, 2020). "Resident advisers announce strike in protest of U-M COVID-19 response". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  26. https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-asks-court-to-require-that-geo-return-to-work/
  27. Bartkowiak Jr., Dave; Bruckner, Meredith; Parlette, Sarah (September 17, 2020). "University of Michigan graduate students accept school's latest offer, end strike". WDIV-TV. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  28. Marowski, Steve (September 16, 2020). "University of Michigan's faculty senate divided on 'no confidence' vote in President Mark Schlissel". MLive. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  29. Marowski, Steve (September 17, 2020). "University of Michigan regents support Schlissel's handling of the pandemic". MLive. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
Academic offices
Preceded by
Mary Sue Coleman		 14th President of the University of Michigan
2014–present		 Incumbent
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