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.