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Message: [QUOTE="FloridaCuse, post: 5631344, member: 8912"] Article Today from the Detroit Free Press via Newsbreak.com. [Very good article on why KS chose to seek the job and why he got it. Gives a more favorable impression of him than given by many posters in this thread. Maybe we didn't know what we had.] [Additional Thought - it will be interesting to see what role he plays in meetings of the Presidents & Chancellors of the schools in the Big Ten. Just MAYBE he'll convince them to give us a shot.] [HEADING=2]How U-M chose its new president[/HEADING] By John Wisely, 1 hours ago In early September, University of Michigan Regent Michael Behm had breakfast with a man he thought could be the school's next president. Syracuse University Chancellor and President Kent Syverud had a long and successful career in academics. He also had two degrees from U-M. He taught there for a decade and he met and married his wife there as well. The search firm U-M hired to help find a new president arranged for the two men to meet at the Vanguard Ann Arbor, a hotel just up the block from the Power Center for Performing Arts. The breakfast was going well. Syverud described his deep love for U-M and promised to do anything he could to help his alma mater find a new leader. But Behm was nervous. "At about the 31st minute — we're already past the half an hour mark — I had not heard him say he was interested," Behm said. "I point-blank had to ask him, 'Kent, would you be interested in this?'" Syverud, a studied poker player, paused before responding. "So he said, 'I owe everything to the university. I want to help,'" Behm said. "He kept saying, 'What's the best way I can help?' And I finally said, the best way you can help is to put your name into consideration to become the president of the university." Syverud remained coy so Behm pressed further. "I needed him to agree to continue the conversation, and he did," Behm said. On Monday, Jan. 12, the Board of Regents unanimously approved Syverud as its 16th president. The school will pay him a $2 million base salary. He said he plans to come to Michigan when his Syracuse contract ends June 30, unless the school finds a replacement before then. Syverud said he hadn't planned to pursue the job. He's 69. He was scheduled to step down as chancellor and president at Syracuse at the end of this academic year. "I had a year's sabbatical, full pay and an opportunity to spend that in Florence, London and Madrid," Syverud said. "I had some Spanish and I've always wanted to spend time in Spain and never have." Syverud said he discussed the idea with his family. His wife, Dr. Ruth Chen, has two degrees from U-M, and their three sons are all big U-M sports fans. "It has been 13 years since I agreed to interview for a job, and I did not originally think I should interview for this one," Syverud said to a crowded room at the Board of Regents meeting after he was voted in. "Ruth and my sons coached me that I should do this. They each passionately believed in the maize and blue, and they once again have supported me every step of the way." Syverud said he enjoyed the last 12 years at Syracuse and he thanked that school for the opportunity. "We intended that community to be our home long after I stepped down as chancellor, which has long been planned for this coming June," he said. "Only one place, Michigan, my alma mater, could have changed that plan." Syverud grew up in Irondequoit, New York, on the shores of Lake Ontario. "I came here to go to school, and I came here because you gave me a scholarship and the resources that made it possible for me to afford to go," Syverud said. He described coming to Ann Arbor for the first time in May 1978. "I arrived in front of the Michigan Union on the Greyhound bus with one suitcase," Syverud said. "I walked across State Street, and my life was changed, as it has been for so many thousands of others before and since, at Flint, at Dearborn, at Ann Arbor, and around the world." Syverud said he is forever grateful for the things U-M did for him, personally and professionally. He credits doctors at Michigan Medicine with saving the life of one of his sons, who was born with a congenital condition that required a rare surgery. "It really showed me what first-rate health care can be in the United States of America," he said, his voice breaking slightly as he spoke. Eric Veal is a senior at U-M studying political science and secondary education. As president of the Central Student Government, he was part of the search process as well and spoke several times with Syverud. He said he came away impressed. “He’s so student-centered and he cares about making sure that everybody at the table is heard, seen and valued,” he said. “To me that’s super important.” Board of Regents Chairman Mark Bernstein worked with Behm on the search committee. He said they spoke to more than 100 candidates at some level. Eventually that pool shrank to about 16, then to four and finally, to one. Bernstein said he remembers his own student days at Michigan when he took two law school classes Syverud taught. Syverud apparently remembered as well. As a teacher, Syverud created a system to remember his students. He pasted a photo of each of them on a three-by-five card and handwrote their names and other details about them. "He kept these," Bernstein said, showing off his own card, which Syverud had recently given him from the collection. It had a black-and-white photo of a bushy-haired Bernstein from his law school days. His grades in those classes were written on the back. "I got a B+ and a B," Bernstein said. All the regents were involved in the process. Regent Jordan Acker said the word he heard most often used to describe Syverud was transformative. Regent Denise Ilitch said: "He really does define a Michigan man, as we often hear." Regent Paul Brown said he was immediately impressed with Syverud because of his history with the school, his career in academics and his seriousness. "Still waters run deep," Brown said. "He doesn't lead with Churchillian speaking, but it's very impactful because it's so sincere." Bernstein said that sincerity was driven home during one of the final interviews with Syverud. A group of regents were seated around a U-shaped table talking to him. "Someone said, 'Why do you want this job?'" Bernstein said. "He got very emotional, and he said, 'This university gave me everything and what do you do for an institution that gave you everything? You give it everything.'" Bernstein said he spotted a tear coming from one of Ilitch's eyes. "I was like, that's it. It's a wrap," Bernstein said. Behm agreed. "It became very apparent early on that this was not a job to him, this is more of a calling," he said. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?