Mary Sue Coleman

Mary Sue Wilson Coleman (born October 2, 1943) is an American chemist and academic administrator who served as the president of the University of Iowa from 1995 to 2002, the 13th president of the University of Michigan from 2002 to 2014, and as the interim president of the University of Michigan in 2022.

She formerly served as Professor of Biological Chemistry in the University of Michigan Medical School and Professor of Chemistry in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts.

Early life and education

Mary Sue Wilson was born on October 2, 1943, in Madison County, Kentucky. She graduated from a high school in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Coleman received a bachelor of science in chemistry from Grinnell College in 1965, and a doctor of philosophy in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1969.

Career

For nineteen years, Coleman was on the biochemistry faculty at the University of Kentucky. She served as the 18th President of the University of Iowa from 1995 to 2002.

Coleman was appointed 13th president of the University of Michigan in August 2002. In 2004, she began leading "The Michigan Difference," a fundraising campaign that sought to raise $2.5 billion for the University of Michigan. The campaign raised $3.2 billion, setting a public university record.

''Time'' magazine ranked Coleman as one of the ten best American university presidents in 2009, citing her success in fundraising and her emphasis on research.

In July 2010, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke appointed her as the co-chair of National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

On April 18, 2013, Coleman announced her retirement as President of the University of Michigan, effective July 1, 2014.

In June 2015 Coleman was appointed to the University of Denver Board of Trustees. She is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and co-chaired the Academy's Lincoln Project on Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education Project with former University of California, Berkeley chancellor Robert Birgeneau.

Coleman served as president of the Association of American Universities from 2016 to 2020.

On March 25, 2021, Coleman was honored by the University of Michigan with the naming of the building that houses the Life Sciences Institute as the Mary Sue Coleman Hall, which is the first academic building on the Ann Arbor campus to be named for a woman.

On January 15, 2022, Coleman was appointed interim president of the University of Michigan. Her predecessor, Mark Schlissel, was fired following a Board of Regents investigation that concluded he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. She was succeeded by Santa Ono on October 14, 2022.

Coleman sits on the Board of Directors of Johnson & Johnson and Meredith Corporation.

Honors and awards

Coleman holds honorary doctorate degrees from a number of higher education institutions:

* Doctor of Science, University of Kentucky, 2003
* Doctor of Science, Grinnell College, 2004
* Honorary Doctorate, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, 2004
* Doctor of Science, Dartmouth College, 2005
* Doctor of Science, University of Notre Dame, 2007
* Doctor of Laws, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2011
* Doctor of Science, Eastern Kentucky University, 2012
* Doctor of Humane Letters, Indiana University, 2013
* Doctor of Law, Michigan State University, 2013
* Doctor of Science, Brandeis University, 2018
* Doctor of Science, University of Iowa, 2019

Personal life

She married Kenneth Coleman and they have one son.

References

Further reading

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Mary Sue
20th-century American chemists
20th-century American women scientists
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesswomen
21st-century American women scientists
1943 births
American academic administrators
American corporate directors
American women biochemists
American women business executives
Grinnell College alumni
Johnson & Johnson people
Kentucky women chemists
Living people
Presidents of the University of Iowa
Presidents of the University of Michigan
Scientists from Michigan
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Women heads of universities and colleges
Members of the National Academy of Medicine
Presidents of the Association of American Universities