In the fall of 2021, University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel removed his mask while speaking at a faculty meeting. He explained that university pandemic rules allowed him to remove his mask while speaking, otherwise his glasses would fog up. Colleen Conway, a music education professor and former chair of the university's faculty senate, recalled the moment. She believed this detail exposed the disconnect between Schlissel and ordinary faculty members, who wore masks in classrooms every day and endured the various inconveniences brought by the pandemic.

"He no longer understands what it feels like to be in a classroom," Conway said.

Schlissel was removed from his position last weekend after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a subordinate. The Board of Regents received an anonymous complaint on December 8 and found that he had used his university email for years "to communicate with the subordinate in a manner that was detrimental to the university's dignity and reputation," the University of Michigan Board of Regents said in a statement.

His departure has left the university facing a crisis of trust. According to faculty members, the former president and other senior leaders were often seen as failing to listen to faculty concerns, which deepened the rift between the administration and the university community. Schlissel's successor will need to address the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the sexual misconduct scandal during his tenure while rebuilding trust.

Faculty members believe the university has made progress in administrative accountability, but the current campus environment may deter already limited presidential candidates. The pandemic has placed enormous pressure on senior administrators, and the new University of Michigan president must not only possess the qualifications to lead one of America's most prestigious public research universities—which has a massive health system and lucrative athletic programs—but also help heal a university troubled by scandal.

A turbulent time at the University of Michigan

The Board of Regents hired Schlissel in 2014 to lead the university, which has 50,000 students and its main campus in Ann Arbor. He succeeded Mary Sue Coleman, who later served as president of the Association of American Universities—a group of prominent research universities—from 2016 to 2020. Coleman has now temporarily returned to the president's role and is considered a strong candidate for interim president.

As a medical scientist, Schlissel drew criticism in 2020 for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The university was criticized for opaque policies, which led to strikes that year by the graduate student employees union and student housing assistants.

At nearly the same time, the university was dealing with two high-profile sexual misconduct cases. In March 2020, Schlissel fired Provost Martin Philbert after a university-commissioned investigation showed Philbert had sexually harassed multiple women since joining in 1995. The review also noted that allegations against Philbert had surfaced multiple times but were not addressed.

In November 2020, the university reached a $9.25 million settlement with eight women harassed by Philbert. The following year, the same law firm that handled the Philbert investigation found that deceased university physician Robert Anderson had sexually assaulted hundreds of students during his 37-year tenure.

Schlissel violated university policy on superior-subordinate relationships due to the extramarital affair, a policy established last year following the Philbert case.

The Board of Regents released a termination letter to Schlissel, along with extensive emails between the former president and the subordinate. In one email attached with flight itineraries to Europe, Schlissel suggested he and the employee miss their connecting flight "and then get stuck in Paris." In another email, he called the woman "sexier."

"Given your knowledge of and involvement in handling harassment incidents at the University of Michigan, and your public commitment to 'liberating' the university community from sexual harassment or other misconduct, these actions are particularly egregious," the Board wrote in the letter.

Schlissel's contract was originally set to be renewed through 2024, but he had previously announced he would step down a year early in 2023, a decision made in consultation with the Board of Regents. According to an October report in the Detroit Free Press, the Board was "deeply divided" in its evaluation of his presidency.

University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald declined Tuesday to arrange interviews with officials, saying in an email that Coleman had not yet signed a contract.

Schlissel's style

Professors said in interviews that, setting aside the recent controversy, faculty dissatisfaction with Schlissel often stemmed from his apparent failure to listen to others. Conway noted that formal channels for faculty to raise concerns with the administration were often ignored.

The Philbert investigation found that in a 2019 faculty survey, an employee had flagged the former provost's misconduct, calling him a "notorious sexual predator." Schlissel said he "missed" the allegation. Investigators in the Philbert case also found that more than a decade earlier, a former provost had emailed Coleman to alert her about Philbert's behavior.

The 2020 investigation report said Coleman did not recall receiving the message and "acknowledged that she may not have given the information the same weight or viewed it in 2010 as she would today."

David Potter, a longtime professor of classical studies at Michigan, said many faculty members felt Schlissel was issuing orders rather than explaining decisions. For example, over the past two years as COVID-19 cases fluctuated, the president failed to consider faculty members' changing comfort levels with in-person teaching.

"He seemed to be saying: 'You all need to shut up and get back to work,'" Potter said.

However, after the faculty senate passed a vote of no confidence in his leadership in September 2020, Schlissel and the Board's attitude shifted. Conway said that afterward, Schlissel and the Board made more effort to listen to faculty; the Board moved beyond "symbolic lunches" with faculty representatives, meeting with professors more frequently and responding promptly to direct communications.

Schlissel's successor will need to demonstrate strong empathy to restore trust across the university community, said Allen Liu, chair of the faculty senate and professor of mechanical engineering. Given the university's recent history, the former president's affair is particularly shocking; the University of Michigan now needs a leader who can "walk the talk."

"We need someone of the highest integrity to lead our university, not someone who knows the rules but puts on a show for the outside world," he said.

Is a cultural shift ahead?

The Board's swift action against Schlissel shows they understand the need for a broader cultural shift beyond appointing a new president, said Alvin Schexnider, senior consultant and senior fellow at AGB Consulting, which advises governing boards.

Releasing the president's emails is particularly unusual, but it signals the Board recognizes "this is a watershed moment for the institution," Schexnider said.

"The key is finding someone who understands the need to put the institution on a new track and stop the bleeding," he said.

Faculty members described a "siloed" system of leadership at Michigan, where senior administrators largely left deans and directors to manage the 19 colleges. This style accommodated the unique needs of each college, but it also meant a lack of oversight for underperforming officials, Potter said. The university had no specific standards for removing deans.

University consultants have called for a new compliance and ethics office to provide checks and balances on senior administrators. Faculty leaders strongly support the idea, Potter said. This would break the "circular" communication system—for example, the university's office previously responsible for sexual misconduct matters reported directly to the provost, who was Philbert himself.

"This is critical to change," Potter said of the new office.

However, finding a presidential candidate willing to bear the weight of such a major scandal may be difficult, said Demetri Morgan, professor of higher education at Loyola University Chicago. Pandemic pressures have already exhausted senior administrators. The president of Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania resigned this year, citing the pandemic burden as one reason.

Morgan noted that only some officials are qualified to lead an institution like the University of Michigan. The university has a massive hospital system and Big Ten athletic programs, and Schlissel was partly credited with revitalizing these programs.

Morgan predicted the Board might choose someone "completely different" from Schlissel, a typical approach for universities to shed the "stink" of scandal. He cited the University of Southern California, which chose Carol Folt as president after the Varsity Blues scandal and major sexual misconduct controversies. Folt had "opposite social identities" compared to her predecessor C.L. Max Nikias, Morgan said.

Michigan may still want a leader with a strong academic background, but it might also consider nontraditional candidates, such as those from business or politics, Morgan said.

Despite the headwinds, Michigan still has a strong brand and prestige, Morgan said.

"You have the opportunity to restore that glory," he said. "That will be very attractive to many people."