Kent Syverud, the University of Michigan’s president-elect, said he cannot assume the job because he has brain cancer, shifting leadership plans for the Ann Arbor school and keeping an interim president in place. Syverud said he received the diagnosis after not feeling well last week and that he is undergoing treatment at the University of Michigan.
In remarks Wednesday, Syverud said, “I am currently undergoing treatment at the University of Michigan. … I am aware that I am one of many, many people who face a diagnosis like this — people who show up each day with courage,” according to the announcement reported by The Associated Press. Syverud added, “I take inspiration from all of them.”
The school’s plan for a transition to Syverud, hired in January, had been for him to start in May. Instead of becoming president, the University of Michigan said Syverud will remain a professor at the law school and serve as an adviser to the Board of Regents.
With Syverud stepping back, the University of Michigan’s interim president, Domenico Grasso, will stay in the role while the governing board searches for another leader. The arrangement means Grasso’s interim tenure will continue beyond what had been expected under the original transition timeline.
The announcement also comes after a prior high-profile leadership effort at a different University of Florida context. Santa Ono had been university president until 2025 and was in line to become head of the University of Florida, when Florida’s Board of Governors voted 10-6 against him in June. Political conservatives had criticized Ono for his past support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and other initiatives they viewed as unacceptable liberal ideology.