University of Michigan's exhaustive search for its next leader is over: the Ann Arbor school has tapped Mark Schlissel to replace Mary Sue Coleman as president.

Schlissel will be U-M's 14th president.

Schlissel is currently the provost of Brown University.

"He's recognized as a highly rated scholar and teacher," said U-M regent Katherine White during a 10 a.m. announcement Friday. "He has an experience as an academic administrator at virtually every level, except as president and we're fixing that right now."

Schlissel's appointment was approved with a unanimous vote of the Board of Regents at 10:20 a.m. Friday, Jan. 24 during a meeting at the Michigan Union.

Schlissel will become the head of a university that's ranked 18th in the world by Times Higher Education, with a budget exceeding $6 billion a year, enrollment nearing 44,000, a workforce of about 22,000 and the largest health system in the Michigan.

"It was obvious to me from the very first meeting that everyone here is passionate about Michigan," Schlissel said Friday. "That makes it ever more attractive for me to come here. To join the regents in partnership and to join the faculty as a colleague."

As Schlissel takes the helm of U-M, he will assume leadership of U-M's efforts to increase diversity on campus and minority enrollment, guide the school's continued downsizing and centralization of administrative staff and be the face of the final years of a $4 billion fundraising campaign.



Mark Schlissel shakes hands with outgoing University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman Friday, Jan. 24. The Board of Regents announced Friday morning that Schlissel has been selected as the university's new president.

Schlissel will be tasked with controlling tuition and preserving U-M's public mission — and its place among the nation's top public colleges — in an era of low state investment.

It's a big job, and one that the Board of Regents gave careful consideration in filling.

U-M regent Mark Bernstein recalled Schlissel's answer to the question "What are the qualities of a great president," asked of him by regents during his first interview with the search committee.

"He said 'You have to love and be amazed by students. You have to love and be amazed by faculty and you have to love and be amazed by research and discovery,' " Bernstein recalled during the Friday announcement. "Those are indeed the qualities of a great president."

Schlissel has a background in biochemcial research. He completed his undergrad at Princeton University in 1979 and earned his master's and doctorate degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1986, where he did his residency training and began his independent research career.

In 1999 Schlissel moved to the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California–Berkeley in 1999 as associate professor, where he moved to dean of biological sciences in the College of Letters and Science at the University of California–Berkeley.

Brown hired Schlissel in 2011.

Schlissel was chosen by regents after a seven-month search that considered dozens of academics over multiple rounds of interviews. The regents and their seven-member search committee were secretive about the search, declining to reveal candidates names or their progress as the search progressed.

The search began shortly after Coleman announced her retirement, planned for the summer of 2014, in April. Coleman, 70, has been the university's leader since 2002, where she came from the University of Iowa, where she was also president.

Regents hired mid-sized search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to lead the search, agreeing to pay the firm $300,000 for its services. Regents also budgeted $50,000 for expenses relating to the search, bringing the total budget to $350,000.



Mary Sue Coleman speaks during a meeting at the Ann Arbor News offices on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014.

The regents' search committee did not include a student, staff or alumni representative, which irked many students who said they wanted a clear voice in picking U-M's next leader. Although the search has been top-secret, regents did hold six public meetings at the university to get input on qualities stakeholders were seeking in a president.

Faculty said they wanted a visible president with a strong academic background who had a history working with complex health systems, as the University if Michigan Health System operates on a $2.4 billion budget and attracts millions in National Institutes of Health grants each year. They called for a consensus-builder who can strengthen collaboration across U-M's 19 colleges and someone who won't be afraid to take risks with such a large institution.

Students said they wanted a leader who would value diversity and prioritize holding the line on tuition and reducing costs at the school.

Details weren't immediately available on the new leader's salary.

Coleman was hired in 2002 with a base salary of $475,000. She now makes a base salary just more than $600,000, although she receives an $325,000 each year in additional compensation and this year also received a one-time $100,000 bonus.

Schlissel's wife, Monica Schwebs, is an environmental and energy lawyer with the national law firm Bingham McCutchen who works in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to joining the practice she worked as staff counsel for the California Energy Commission, where she handled federal and state energy and environment issues.



The couple has four adult children.

Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for the Ann Arbor News. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@mlive.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.