Seasoned President Kent Syverud Appointed 16th President of the University of Michigan

Kent Syverud, a former law school dean and chancellor and president of Syracuse University, returns to the University of Michigan where he has been named the 16th president on January 12, 2026.   He begins his 5-year term on July 1, 1026.

Prior to his most recent presidency at Syracuse University, Kent Syverud was dean at the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis and the Ethan A.H. Shepley Distinguished University Professor. Before Washington University, Syverud was dean at Vanderbilt University Law School.  He also served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan.

President Syverud earned his JD from Michigan Law.  He also holds a master’s in economics from the University of Michigan. 

After graduating from law school, Syverud served as a clerk for United States District Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.  He went into academia where he taught complex litigation, insurance law, and civil procedure at Vanderbilt University and at the University of Michigan.

Brent White Returns to Golden Gate University as President

Prior to his appointment as the 8^th President of Golden Gate University in San Francisco effective November 1, 2025, Brent White served as the chief global officer at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law. He previously served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Golden Gate University and vice president for global affairs and dean of global education at the University of Arizona, where he was also a Professor of Law. At Arizona, he was also the associate Dean for  programs and global initiatives at the James E. Rogers College of Law, where he led the development of the nation’s first bachelor of arts in law.

Before entering academia, White was the legal director in Hawaiʻi for the American Civil Liberties Union.

White earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Eduardo Peñalver, Former Law Dean and Seasoned President Named Next Pres. of Georgetown

Former Cornell Law Dean Eduardo Peñalver, currently President of Seattle University (since 2021), has been named President of Georgetown University, effective July 2026. Peñalver graduated from Yale Law School and clerked at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice John Paul Stevens.  In addition to teaching at Cornell Law School, he served on the faculty at Fordham Law School and the University of Chicago School of Law.  He was also a visiting faculty member at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School.