Susan M. Collins has been appointed the University of Michigan’s interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. She had been serving in an acting capacity since late January.
The Board of Regents approved Collins’ appointment March 26, effective March 11.
“Professor Collins’ proven leadership skills, depth of experience, and demonstrated commitment to the University of Michigan make her ideally suited for the responsibilities of interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs,” Schlissel said in his recommendation to the regents.
“This appointment will keep her in the role until a new provost is named and installed. We’ll begin organizing a search process in the months ahead.”
The provost has primary responsibility for academic and budgetary affairs at U-M.
Collins is the Edward M. Gramlich Collegiate Professor of Public Policy in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and a professor of economics in LSA.
She served as Ford School dean from 2007-17. Before coming to U-M, she was on the economics faculty at Georgetown and Harvard universities and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
During her tenure as Ford School dean, Collins launched the school’s first undergraduate degree program, and her achievements in diversity, equity and inclusion in graduate education were recognized by the university.
She also serves on the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Collins earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Harvard University in 1980, and her Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984.
