We, the faculty of the University of Michigan, strongly disapprove of the exclusion of representatives of elected faculty government from the Presidential Search Committee. We are pleased that representatives of undergraduate and graduate student government have been placed on the committee, and we are likewise pleased that a number of distinguished faculty colleagues have been placed on the committee. But hand-picking faculty members differs from choosing duly elected representatives of the faculty. Elected faculty government ought to have a voice in the selection of our next president.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) advises that presidential committees must consist of individuals elected by the faculty to represent the faculty and to solicit opinions from the faculty as a whole, “thereby broadening the mandate for the candidate who is ultimately selected to become president.” At Michigan, faculty government exists precisely to represent the interests of the 7,600 members of the faculty about matters that pertain to institutional governance. The absence of even a single representative from faculty government undermines the committee’s ability to gauge faculty priorities and risks detaching the search process from a wider discussion about the important matters that now press upon our University.
As a matter of principle, executive search committees at UM ought to have among their members representatives of faculty government. By this means, the university’s leadership will, we hope, better reflect the interests and priorities of the teachers, scholars, clinicians, and researchers who sustain the institution.
Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs
Adopted by the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs on September 8, 2025.
Adopted by the Senate Assembly on September 22, 2025.