Michigan Board to Vote on Ono Replacement Today

The University of Michigan Board of Regents will reportedly vote today to approve Syracuse University chancellor Kent Syverud as the institution’s next president, according to MLive.com. 

On Sunday, the board announced a special meeting for today to elect a new leader. If approved, Syverud will replace interim president Domenico Grasso.  

Syverud has a law degree and master’s in economics from UM and was associate dean for academic affairs and a professor at the University of Michigan Law School. In August, he announced he would step down from the leadership of Syracuse this June after more than 12 years in the post. 

“He’ll be terrific,” UM regent Michael Behm told MLive.com. “He’s just who we’re looking for to lead the university.”

“He takes meetings with anyone and everyone, which is something I think that we sorely miss from a leader at UM,” Behm said. “He has a track record of imagining goals and making them reality.”

Grasso was appointed interim president in May after the University of Florida announced then–Michigan president Santa Ono was the sole finalist for its top post. Ono was ultimately rejected by the Florida Board of Governors over his past support of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, from which he unsuccessfully sought to distance himself. Ono served as president of UM for less than three years, from October 2022 to May 2025.