University of Michigan President-Elect Steps Down Due to Brain Cancer Diagnosis
Kent Syverud won’t become University of Michigan’s next president after brain cancer diagnosis forces him to step aside before taking office.
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN — University of Michigan President-Elect Kent Syverud announced Wednesday he will not assume the presidency this summer after being diagnosed with brain cancer. This has prompted the Board of Regents to resume its search for a new university leader.
Syverud, unanimously approved by the university’s Board of Regents in January, is currently receiving treatment at University of Michigan Medicine, according to a statement released by the university.
“I am approaching this with optimism, with determination, and with full confidence in the people who are caring for me,” Syverud said in a letter to the university community. “I believe in the road ahead, and I intend to walk it with everything I have.”
Board Resumes Presidential Search
Mark Bernstein, chair of the U-M Board of Regents, announced that Syverud will remain connected to the university as a professor of law at Michigan Law School and serve as a special advisor to the board. The regents are restarting their search for a permanent president.
Domenico Grasso, who has served as interim president since former university President Santa Ono departed Michigan in May 2025 to lead the University of Florida, will continue in the interim role until the next president is selected and takes office.
“Our first priority is helping Kent and his family address this challenge. And we will do so with every resource we have,” Bernstein wrote in a statement on behalf of the board. “We know how deeply Kent loves Michigan. And we love him. His decency. His integrity. His intellect, and his values.”
Access to World-Class Medical Care
In his letter, Syverud expressed his gratitude for receiving treatment at a leading research institution, highlighting the connection between university research and medical care delivery.
“I am fortunate, in ways I do not take lightly, to be receiving treatment at one of the finest academic medical centers in the world,” he wrote, according to the Michigan Advance.
The diagnosis represents a significant setback for the University of Michigan, which had planned for Syverud to take the helm during what was expected to be a period of continued growth and development for the institution.
