Mary Sue Coleman

Dr. Mary Sue Coleman (born October 2, 1943) is an American scientist and educator who is currently serving as the 13th president of the University of Michigan. She is the first woman to serve in that role and the first since 1996 without an undergraduate or graduate degree from the University of Michigan.

Early life and career

Mary Coleman earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Grinnell College and her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina.

For 19 years she was a member of the biochemistry faculty at the University of Kentucky. Her work in the sciences led to administrative appointments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of New Mexico, where she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs. Coleman had previously served as president of the University of Iowa since 1995 where she was also professor of biochemistry in Iowa's College of Medicine and professor of biological sciences in the College of Liberal Arts.

In 1997, Coleman was elected to the Institute of Medicine. She is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She co-chaired a major policy study of the Institute of Medicine, examining the consequences of uninsurance, and has become a nationally recognized expert on the issue.

As a biochemist, Dr. Coleman has built a distinguished research career through her research on the immune system and malignancies. Presently at the University of Michigan she holds appointments of professor of biological chemistry in the Medical School and professor of chemistry in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

As president, she has unveiled several major initiatives that will have an impact on future generations of students, the intellectual life of the campus, and society at large. These initiatives include the interdisciplinary richness of the U–M, student residential life, ethics in our society, the economic vitality of the state and nation, and issues related to health care.

Under her leadership, the University launched "The Michigan Difference," a campaign to raise $2.5 billion for the future of the institution. At its conclusion in December 2008, the campaign finale stood at $3,200,733,103 – the most ever by a public university.

Dr. Coleman also has announced a groundbreaking partnership between the University and Google, which will enable the public to search the text of the University’s 7 million volume library and will open the way to universal access and the preservation of recorded human knowledge.

Appointment as President of the University of Michigan system

Coleman followed her predecessor Lee Bollinger in supporting affirmative action programs at Michigan. In November 2006, the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative passed by a 16-percent margin, resulting in a constitutional amendment banning racial preference in admissions and hiring.^[2] Coleman has since stated she intends to challenge the initiative and any potential implications it may have for the university and its diversity.^[3]

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education's annual survey on executive compensation in public universities, Coleman is the fifth-highest paid university president of public universities in the nation.^[4]

Personal life

President Coleman and her husband, Dr. Kenneth Coleman, a political scientist specializing in Latin America, live in the historic President’s House on the University campus. Their son, Jonathan, is a portfolio manager in Denver, Colo.

Honors/affiliations/awards

Dr. Coleman holds honorary doctorates from Grinnell College, Luther College, the University of Kentucky, Albion College, Dartmouth College, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Northeastern University, the University of Toledo, and the University of Notre Dame. She is the recipient of a distinguished alumnus award from the University of North Carolina and the Alumni Award from Grinnell College. She has been honored as Humanitarian of the Year by the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

President Coleman is a member of the Detroit Renaissance Board of Directors; the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan; and the Michigan Strategic Economic Investment and Commercialization Board. She is a trustee of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Gerald R. Ford Foundation. She serves on the boards of directors of Johnson & Johnson and the Meredith Corporation.

Notably, given the long-standing rivalry between the University of Michigan and the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Coleman was invited to be the commencement speaker at the first separate commencement ceremony for the Notre Dame Graduate School on May 19, 2007, and received an honorary degree from Notre Dame.^[5]

References

External links

• University of Michigan President - Mary Sue Coleman
• Official Forbes Magazine Profile
• Highest-Paid University Presidents
• The Michigan Daily - Woman in charge: Regents announce Coleman as first female president
• The Michigan Daily - Mary Sue Coleman named 13th University president
• Presidents of the University of Michigan