39 Facts About Mark Schlissel

Mark Steven Schlissel was born on November 24,1957 and is an American medical scientist who served as the 14th president of the University of Michigan from 2014 to 2022.

Mark Schlissel had planned to step down as president in 2023, but was fired by the University of Michigan Board of Regents on January 15,2022 for interacting with a coworker in a way that was "inconsistent with promoting the dignity and reputation of the University of Michigan".

The Regents further alleged that Mark Schlissel was involved "in an inappropriate relationship with a University employee," although they did not specify the nature of the relationship or reveal details of any investigation that led them to that conclusion.

Mark Schlissel holds both a professorship of microbiology and immunology and a professorship of internal medicine within the University of Michigan Health System as well as a professorship of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology in the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

Mark Schlissel was born in Brooklyn, New York, in a traditional Jewish household.

Mark Schlissel was raised in Old Bridge, NJ, graduating from Madison Township High School, Old Bridge, NJ in 1975.

Mark Schlissel was inducted into its Wall of Fame in 2017.

Mark Schlissel was named the 14th president of the University of Michigan in 2014, serving in that role until January 2022.

Mark Schlissel graduated with a BA in Biochemical Sciences from Princeton University in 1979.

Mark Schlissel earned his MD degree and a PhD in Physiological Chemistry from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1986 through the Medical Scientist Training Program.

Previously, Mark Schlissel became a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1991.

Mark Schlissel moved to the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley in 1999 as an associate professor, becoming a full professor in 2002.

Mark Schlissel is married to Monica Schwebs, an environmental and energy lawyer and his Princeton classmate, and they have four children.

Mark Schlissel was appointed in 2014, following the retirement of Mary Sue Coleman.

Mark Schlissel's appointment was unanimously approved by the Board of Regents in a special meeting on January 24,2014.

Mark Schlissel was recruited from Brown University, where he was provost from 2011 to 2014 under Ruth Simmons and Christina Paxson.

Mark Schlissel was offered a $750,000 base salary on a five-year contract, making him the fourth highest paid public university presidents.

The decision to extend Mark Schlissel's contract followed an external performance review that credited Mark Schlissel's leadership with Michigan's excellent performance in academic and medical center rankings, in addition to college affordability, fundraising and research funding.

In 2017, Mark Schlissel announced an updated financial aid policy, in which any Michigan student from a family that makes less than $65,000 could attend University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for four years for free.

In 2021, Mark Schlissel extended the Go Blue Guarantee to students studying at UM Flint and UM Dearborn.

Since Mark Schlissel piloted the Go Blue Guarantee at the University of Michigan, the program's success has been replicated at many public flagship universities including the University of Virginia and the University of Texas.

Mark Schlissel was recognized by the Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Automotive Project with the Let Freedom Ring award, in recognition of his contributions to diversity at University of Michigan through the Go Blue Guarantee.

In 2016, Mark Schlissel announced the formation of an interdisciplinary research initiative to study and treat poverty, and named Social Work and Public Policy professor Luke Shaefer as its founding director.

In 2019, Mark Schlissel announced the Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention to fund interdisciplinary research with the ability to limit the harm caused by firearms.

Mark Schlissel, who was trained as a medical doctor and as a molecular biologist, launched the Biosciences Initiative in 2017 to expand the university's biology research profile in areas of public importance.

In parallel with the Biosciences Initiative, Mark Schlissel entered an agreement with Deerfield Management to commercialize biomedical inventions developed at the university, in which Deerfield Management committed $130 million over 10 years to nurture university technology spin-outs.

In 2019, Mark Schlissel announced the formation of the Michigan Arts initiative, to improve student engagement with the arts during their time at the university.

Amid federal scrutiny on potential foreign influence on research in the United States, Mark Schlissel maintained strong relationships with international partner universities during his time as president, including supporting study abroad programs, international data consortia and research collaborations.

Mark Schlissel took several major international tours to visit partner institutions and Michigan alumni living abroad, including a trip to mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea and India.

Mark Schlissel has come into conflict with climate activists over his support for continuing university investment in oil and gas industries.

Concurrent with student activism, Mark Schlissel's administration had been studying the possibility of running the university using carbon-neutral power through the President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality, which was a successor to a 2015 effort called the President's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Committee.

The university and Mark Schlissel were criticized for disciplining him, citing a breach of free speech, the right to boycott, and professorial independence.

On September 8,2020, the university's graduate student employee union authorized a work stoppage because of concerns with Mark Schlissel's reopening plans and policies.

However, the motion was largely symbolic because Mark Schlissel was accountable to the board of regents, not the faculty senate.

On December 8,2021, via an anonymous complaint, the board of regents of the University of Michigan were informed that Mark Schlissel may have been involved in an inappropriate relationship with a university employee.

On January 15,2022, Mark Schlissel was fired as president of the University of Michigan by the university's board of regents.

Mark Schlissel had earlier negotiated early retirement with a final annual salary of $927,000; but "that "golden parachute" contract is void because Schlissel was fired for cause".

Between the time that Mark Schlissel's contract was renewed in 2018 and the time that he was dismissed, three new regents were elected, and the relationship between Mark Schlissel and the board had deteriorated significantly.

The settlement requires that Mark Schlissel take a one year leave of absence with a $463,000 annual salary.