The President of the University of Michigan is the principal executive officer of the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. The office was created by the Michigan Constitution

Michigan Constitution

The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government....

 of 1850, which also specified that the president was to be appointed by the Regents of the University of Michigan and preside at their meetings, but without a vote. Between the establishment of the University of Michigan in 1837 and 1850, the Board of Regents ran the university directly; although they were, by law, supposed to appoint a Chancellor to administer the university, they never did, and instead a rotating roster of professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

s carried out the day-to-day administration duties.

While the modern office was created in 1850, the University of Michigan itself now traces its date of founding to 1817, when its precursor, the University of Michigania, was founded. The only president of that institution, Rev. John Monteith

Rev. John Monteith

Reverend John Monteith was a Presbyterian minister and a founding father of the University of Michigan, formerly known as University of Michigania, also known as the Catholepistemiad...

, is listed below, but is not officially considered to have been a president of the University of Michigan.

The first President of the University of Michigan was Henry Philip Tappan

Henry Philip Tappan

Henry Philip Tappan was an American philosopher, educator and academic administrator. He is officially considered the first president of the University of Michigan....

. The position had originally been offered to Henry Barnard

Henry Barnard

Henry Barnard was an American educationalist and reformer.-Biography:...

, but he declined, and Tappan and John Hiram Lathrop

John Hiram Lathrop

John Hiram Lathrop was a well-known American educator during the early 19th century . He served as the first President of both the University of Missouri and the University of Wisconsin as well as president of Indiana University.-Early life:John Lathrop was born in Sherburne, New York in 1799...

 (then Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

) were nominated as new choices, after which Tappan was unanimously elected. Barnard later succeeded Lathrop at Wisconsin.

The 13th and current President of the University of Michigan is Mary Sue Coleman, appointed in 2002. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Coleman's 2006-2007 compensation was $742,148, the fifth-highest among public university presidents.

Of the previous presidents:

• 1 had the office abolished
• 1 died in office
• 1 was removed by the regents (for which subsequent regents apologized)
• 4 retired at the end of their careers
• 2 resigned to return to teaching or research
• 4 resigned to move to posts at other institutions (Northwestern University
  Northwestern University
  Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
  
  , the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
  
  , Princeton University
  Princeton University
  Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
  
  , and Columbia University
  Columbia University
  Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
  
  )

List of Presidents of the University of Michigan System

Number	Name	Years in office	Notes
	Rev. John Monteith Rev. John Monteith Reverend John Monteith was a Presbyterian minister and a founding father of the University of Michigan, formerly known as University of Michigania, also known as the Catholepistemiad...	1817-1821	First and only President of the University of Michigania
	none	1821-1837	Office abolished in favor of a Board of Trustees
	none	1837-1852	Board of Regents replaces Board of Trustees
1	Henry Philip Tappan Henry Philip Tappan Henry Philip Tappan was an American philosopher, educator and academic administrator. He is officially considered the first president of the University of Michigan....	1852-1863	First President of the University of Michigan, removed by regents
2	Erastus Otis Haven Erastus Otis Haven Erastus Otis Haven was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1880, and the president of several universities.-Biography:...	1863-1869	Resigned to become President of Northwestern University Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
acting	Henry S. Frieze	1869-1871	Following President Haven's resignation.
3	James Burrill Angell James Burrill Angell James Burrill Angell was an American educator, academic administrator, and diplomat. He is best known for being the longest-serving president of the University of Michigan . Under his leadership Michigan gained prominence as an elite public university...	1871-1909	Retired after 38 years (longest-serving president)
acting	Henry S. Frieze	1880-1882	While President Angell is U.S. Minister to China United States Ambassador to China The United States Ambassador to China is the chief American diplomat to People's Republic of China . The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushing, as Commissioner, negotiated the Treaty of Wanghia. Commissioners represented the United States in...
acting	Henry S. Frieze	1887-1888	While President Angell is on International Commission of Canadian Fisheries
acting	Harry Burns Hutchins Harry Burns Hutchins Harry Burns Hutchins was the fourth president of the University of Michigan .He was initially named interim president for one year to succeed James Burrill Angell, but his term was later extended after several other candidates, including Woodrow Wilson, were offered the presidency and declined...	1897-1898	While President Angell is U.S. Minister to Turkey United States Ambassador to Turkey The United States of America has maintained many high level contacts with Turkey since the nineteenth century.-Chargé d'Affaires:*George W. Erving *David Porter -Minister Resident:*David Porter *Dabney Smith Carr...
interim	Harry Burns Hutchins	1909-1910	Following President Angell's retirement.
4	Harry Burns Hutchins	1910-1920	Was the first student to receive a degree from James B. Angell at Michigan; retired
5	Marion LeRoy Burton Marion LeRoy Burton Marion LeRoy Burton was the second president of Smith College, serving from 1910 to 1917. He left Smith to become president of the University of Minnesota from 1917 to 1920....	1920-1925	Died in office
acting	Alfred Henry Lloyd Alfred Henry Lloyd -Life:Lloyd received both his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Harvard. He studied philosophy at Göttingen University in Berlin and Heidelberg University, before returning to Harvard for his Ph.D., which he received in 1893. Upon returning from Europe in 1891, Lloyd was recruited by John Dewey as an...	1925	From February through September after the death of President Burton
6	Clarence Cook Little	1925-1929	Resigned to conduct research at Bar Harbor Bar Harbor, Maine Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 5,235. Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island... , Maine Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
7	Alexander Grant Ruthven Alexander Grant Ruthven Alexander Grant Ruthven was the President of the University of Michigan from 1929 to 1951.-Biography:Alexander Grant Ruthven was born in 1882. In 1906, he received a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Michigan. He worked as a professor, director of the University Museum, and Dean. He became...	1929-1951	Retired after 22 years in office
8	Harlan Hatcher Harlan Hatcher Harlan Henthorne Hatcher served as the eighth President of the University of Michigan from 1951 to 1967.-Biography:...	1951-1968	Retired
9	Robben Wright Fleming Robben Wright Fleming Robben Wright Fleming was the President of Wisconsin-Madison from 1964 to 1967, and the University of Michigan from 1968 to 1978.-Biography:...	1968-1979	Resigned, was chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
interim	Allan Frederick Smith	1979	Following President Fleming's resignation.
10	Harold Tafler Shapiro	1980-1988	Resigned to become President of Princeton University Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
interim	Robben Wright Fleming	1988	Following President Shapiro's resignation.
11	James Johnson Duderstadt James Johnson Duderstadt James Johnson Duderstadt was the President of the University of Michigan from 1988 to 1996. He currently holds the title of President Emeritus and University Professor of Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan.-Biography:...	1988-1996	Resigned to return to teaching
interim	Homer A. Neal	1996	Following President Duderstadt's resignation.
12	Lee C. Bollinger	1996-2002	Resigned to become President of Columbia University Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
interim	B. Joseph White B. Joseph White Bernard Joseph White is President Emeritus of the University of Illinois and James F. Towey Professor of Business and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is Dean Emeritus of the Stephen M...	2002	Following President Bollinger's resignation.
13	Mary Sue Coleman	2002-present	First woman President at UM. Her name was inscribed on the new wall at the construction site of the new Museum of Art.

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