As students return to campus this fall, questions about who will lead the University of Michigan continue to loom. Following former University President Santa Ono’s surprise resignation last May, the University has begun the search for his replacement. The Presidential Search Advisory Committee, named in August, has set out to select the candidate they believe will best serve the U-M community. Committee members include the University Board of Regents and a mixture of prominent faculty and staff. There are only two students — one undergraduate and one graduate.
The committee has its work cut out for it. Choosing the right leader for one of the largest and most renowned public universities in the world is a difficult undertaking even in normal times. Now, the task is even more onerous. As students of the University, the Editorial Board would be remiss not to outline the qualities, characteristics and values that we believe the committee should prioritize when finding the future president.
Ono’s tenure can serve as a teaching moment, and the committee would do well to learn from both his mistakes and successes. The failures in the latter half of his term often obscure the fact that he came to campus a popular man. In the wake of his predecessor’s scandalous final days, Ono played an integral role in making the University believe in itself again. He was omnipresent and fiercely positive, posing in photos with students, appearing at football games and engaging with the U-M community on social media.
Now that Ono is gone, the University needs a similarly restorative figure. As one faculty member put it in a recent Letter to the Editor, the campus deserves “a cheerleader-in-chief.” This Editorial Board agrees. Putting a fractured U-M community back together will not only require a tactful administrator but also an upbeat leader willing to meet students where they are.
If we had to sum up Ono’s term in a single sentence: He was a good fair-weather president, but proved incapable of handling the difficulties of the last two years. His replacement has substantial cleaning up to do as a result.
A new president should start with transparency. From backroom alterations to the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities to the disturbing surveillance of campus organizers, U-M leadership has become increasingly secretive and deaf to feedback. The next president must rebuild the trust between the campus and the administration that this misguided approach destroyed. That means including students, staff and faculty in the decision-making process.
It also means promoting the University’s values in both policy and presentation. Academic freedom, the exchange of ideas, a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives — these are the principles that made this institution great. We abandon them at our own peril. From cutting the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to implementing institutional neutrality, the University has made this mistake in the past. Ono’s successor must have the conviction to hold the line against political attacks and defend the University’s academic mission. This quality has become more important than ever as President Donald Trump’s administration attempts to bludgeon colleges across the country into conforming with his agenda.
This Editorial Board doesn’t expect — or want — the next U-M president to pick avoidable fights with the federal government, but we understand that some fights cannot be avoided. With Trump deporting international and undocumented students, outlawing DEI and holding federal funding hostage, it is a grave error for the University to confuse the battlefield with the negotiating table. Ono erred by prioritizing political expedience over the needs of the U-M community. The next president won’t restore campus unity by making the same mistake.
Harvard University just showed that legal fights with the Trump administration are winnable. Last year, many Big 10 schools, excluding the University, joined a Mutual Defense Compact to unite against the federal government’s predations. This is what conviction looks like, and it’s a shame that the so-called “Leaders and Best” weren’t the ones to set the example. We hope the new president will be more open to defending our academic autonomy.
But above all else, Ono’s replacement must remember to invest in our campus. In the political tumult of the last two years, national and international events have largely overshadowed Wolverines’ everyday concerns. Occupied by attacks from the Trump administration, the fight over DEI and student protests, the ultimate presidential duty of protecting and lifting students up has fallen by the wayside. With continuously climbing student housing prices, dining hall or food expenses and exorbitant tuition rates, the school is becoming an increasingly inaccessible place for many students. The University has a responsibility to educate future leaders from all backgrounds, and that can’t happen if only the richest can afford to be here.
In essence, the next president of the University must stand for students in every capacity. Someone who leads with integrity and transparency, believes in our shared values and defends the University from pressure on all sides will undoubtedly succeed as a strong leader. We urge the Committee to sincerely consider our vision for the next president.
This editorial represents the opinion of The Michigan Daily’s Editorial Board. If you are interested in submitting an Op-Ed or Letter to the Editor, please send your submission to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
