University of Michigan taps Vanderbilt vice chancellor as next president

The University of Michigan's Board of Regents announced Tuesday that Cybele Raver, currently Vanderbilt's provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, will become the school's next president, pending a formal vote scheduled for Sept. 1. Her term would begin Dec. 1, with outgoing president Domenico Grasso staying on through November to hand off the reins.

The university's own announcement credits Raver with helping Vanderbilt cross $1 billion in annual research spending, launching a new computing college, and expanding the school's footprint to four U.S. cities. Board chair Michael Behm called her a proven builder of teams and research excellence, and reaffirmed, in the same breath, the university's belief that Michigan 'must remain the best university in the country.'

Raver, for her part, described the job as an 'extraordinary honor' at a 'pivotal moment in higher education,' language that could have been generated for any hire at any university in any decade. The vote to make it official is still ten days out.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.