EMU President Susan Martin: 'I will be moving on'

Eastern Michigan University President Susan Martin's voice shook as she started to talk to about 75 university faculty and staff members this morning.

"In December, I started thinking about what I wanted to accomplish with the rest of my career," she said, taking a long pause. After recounting a bit about her love for Eastern, through tears Martin said: "I will be moving on."

Martin — the first female president of Eastern — is leaving after 7 years at the helm of the Ypsilanti school. She's had up and downs throughout her time, including private battles with some board members, but said leaving was her decision. She'll step down in July, transfer back to the business school faculty and go on a year-long sabbatical provided for in her contract, which pays her $340,000. Her contract is up in July 2016.

Martin was largely seen as a stabilizing force by many on campus. She was praised for her response to the off-campus murder of a student and for increasing police patrols. She also was the public face of Eastern's zero, zero, zero campaign, where it froze tuition, rent and fees early in her tenure.

Martin's tenure has been excellent, board chairman Mike Morris, who joined the board in 2011, told the Free Press. "The students are thrilled with her. We've now got a very strong bench of leaders."

A search committee has been set up and will be run by Regent Michelle Crumm. Board members expect to appoint an interim leader to take over in July until a permanent replacement can be found.

The last time Eastern searched for a president, it did so under a cloud of controversy, with a president cast out of office following the cover-up of the rape and murder of a female student in a dorm room.

"Eastern Michigan University is a better place than it was seven years ago," longtime Regent Jim Stapleton told the Free Press. "Credit for that goes to a lot of people — an engaged board who stabilized the university, a dedicated group of faculty, staff and administrators and an alumni base that remained passionate throughout it all. Sue Martin is one of these people, but it is time for the university to take it to the next level."

Martin and members of Eastern's governing board have feuded, mostly in private, for several years.

Differences came out publicly in 2012, when the board sent Martin a strongly worded letter about her drinking in public. She agreed to enter counseling, although she said she didn't have a drinking problem. Martin disclosed the letter to the public hours after the Detroit Free Press received a copy of her personnel record through an open records request.

Morris said that is ancient history.

"There's been no re-occurrence. Not even a whiff. I hope people will celebrate this news with Sue," he said.

Eastern has had a rocky run of presidents in recent years.

Martin took the helm in 2008 after scandals forced the two previous presidents from office. Samuel Kirkpatrick resigned in 2004 for overspending on the University House, the president's house, and John Fallon was fired in 2007 after an administrative cover-up of the student's murder.

"I really didn't know what I was getting into," she said. "It was a troubled time."

In a news release announcing the resignation, Eastern touted several accomplishments by Martin, including:

■ Strong enrollment growth for four consecutive years, including the Honors College, which has nearly doubled in enrollment since 2011, and which enrolled its largest freshman class ever in the fall of 2014.

■ Raising the academic profile of Eastern's student body, with the average high school GPA of entering freshman rising from 3.05 in fall 2010 to 3.27 for the fall 2014 class. The average ACT score has also risen, from 21.1 in 2011 to 22.25 for in 2014.

■ Increasing economic support of students, with financial aid growth of 100% over the last seven years, to a total of $43.8 million for fiscal year 2015.

■ Tuition restraint: Eastern has had the lowest dollar tuition increase in the state of Michigan over the last six years.

■ Improving student academic support services, such as an increase in advising staff, and opening of the Francine Parker Advising Center, a special drop-in facility in the EMU Student Center to complement the main advising office in McKenny Hall.

■ Successful completion of the $50-million "Invest, Inspire" comprehensive fund-raising campaign.

■ Groundbreaking, construction and opening of the $90-million Science Complex, the largest capital project in EMU's history.

■ The $42-million renovation of Pray-Harrold, the university's largest classroom building.

She also has been praised for her recommendation that Eastern end its part in the controversial Education Achievement Authority. The board, however, did not accept that recommendation.

Today's announcement came as a shock to the campus. Many students said they liked seeing Martin around campus.

"While the student body congratulates Dr. Martin on her tremendous career and on her retirement, we are saddened that our president is leaving," student body president Desmond Miller said in an e-mail statement. "She has proven on countless occasions her love for EMU and its student body. This university is a far better place because of her leadership and we are disappointed that the board of regents did not do more to keep her here."

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @reporterdavidj.