On Monday, January 12th, the University of Michigan Board of Regents announced that Kent Syverud had been selected as the next President of our university. Like several other UM Presidents, including Alexander Ruthven and James Duderstadt, President-Elect Syverud attended Michigan as a student. Unlike them, one of the degrees he earned was a Master’s of Economics!
President-Elect Syverud initially went to Michigan Law School, where he earned his J.D. in 1981. As recalled in a 1985 issue of “Law Quadrangle Notes,” he remained at Michigan to study economics, earning a Master’s in 1983 before leaving to clerk for Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer of the United States District Court in Washington D.C. (an acceptable reason to skip class if I’ve ever heard one).
Though he spent 12 years at Syracuse as Chancellor and President, Syverud never forgot where he came from. On Monday, he remarked that “I do believe Michigan has been, is now, and must remain the best public research university anywhere. That has been my experience of Michigan. This university gave me everything I have become.” Please join the Department of Economics in wishing a warm welcome and successful tenure to Kent Syverud!
