As some of you may know, the University of Michigan—my alma mater—recently lost its president. This moment presents a critical opportunity, not only for higher education at large but especially for the future of Michigan and the Ann Arbor community. With your permission, I’d like to offer a vision for what the Board of Regents should prioritize in the selection of our next leader. While many of these ideas are broadly applicable to educational leadership across institutions, some are distinctly Michigan—like an appreciation for the excellence of our football program.

What follows is my open letter to the Regents.

An Open Letter to the University of Michigan Board of Regents

Dear Regents,

As you begin the critical process of selecting the next president of the University of Michigan, I write to urge you to approach this decision not just as a matter of institutional continuity, but as a moment of transformation. Michigan deserves a president who reflects the values, history, and future of our great public university—someone who doesn’t just admire the block M from afar, but who has lived it, loved it, and understands its promise at every level. Michigan’s longest-serving and most impactful presidents have been people who studied here, walked these quads, and understood the soul of this institution. It matters that they had degrees from the University of Michigan. It mattered then—and it matters now.

Additionally, in 2025, you have an opportunity to make history. The University of Michigan has never had a Latino/a president. Yet Latinos are now the fastest-growing population in K–12 schools across the United States and the state of Michigan. Our next leader should reflect this demographic and educational reality, not just symbolically but substantively. A Latino/a president would signal to an entire generation of students that they belong here—and that leadership at the highest levels is within reach.

More broadly, the next president must have a proven track record of advancing diversity in all its forms—not merely through aspirations or strategic plans, but through real, rapid, and measurable results. We need someone who doesn’t just speak the language of equity, but who has led it, lived it, and delivered it across a range of institutional contexts—for EVERYONE.

Pedigree alone is not enough. Leadership drawn solely from elite academic associations or the narrow ranks of Association of American Universities (AAU) institutions will no longer suffice. Haven’t recent presidential tenures already taught us this? Michigan needs a leader who has excelled across a range of institutional contexts and brings a nuanced, textured understanding of American higher education in all its forms.

And let us be equally clear: the next president should not be a business executive or politician with no real experience in university leadership. Haven’t we learned from the debacle at the University of Florida and so many other places that what may sound good on paper, make a politician happy—or play well in a press release—often leads to disaster in practice at an institution like Michigan? These candidates are often great talkers, but they rarely understand the deep complexities of shared governance, tenure, research, student support, academic freedom, and institutional mission. Universities are not corporations. They are living ecosystems of inquiry, culture, and service.

And critically, this must be an external candidate—not a Michigan insider. For far too long, our institution has relied on insular networks and internal candidates who may understand our processes but struggle to challenge our conventions. We need a leader from outside the current university leadership structure—someone with the independence and courage to bring fresh ideas, drive cultural change, and break with business-as-usual.

At the same time, we don’t need a stranger to Michigan—we need someone who already has a meaningful presence on campus. Someone who walks the Diag with purpose, who has engaged with our students, faculty, and community, who understands our spirit—but who has not been absorbed into the university’s insider culture. Someone who brings both proximity and perspective. Someone who can bridge the community’s lived experience with visionary leadership that comes from the outside in.

Connection to this place must not be optional—it must be foundational. The next president should be someone who was born in Michigan or raised here, who earned a degree from this university, who has family ties to the institution, or all of the above. They must be someone who has studied in the Law Library, had lunch at the Union, cheered the Maize and Blue in the Big House, bought books at Ulrich’s, or grabbed a late-night pizza from NYPD. These are not trivial memories. They are markers of belonging. They show that Michigan isn’t just a job—it’s home.

We need a leader with deep ties to faculty, earned through mutual respect and collaborative work at prior institutions. We need someone with existing and authentic relationships in the civil rights community, unions, philanthropy, nonprofits, and grassroots organizations who can expand U-M’s reach beyond the ivory tower. Someone who understands the importance of athletics to the spirit of the university—not just as a budget line, but as a unifying cultural force. Someone who has stood in the bleachers as a fan at Rose Bowls, Final Fours and Frozen Fours, not just waved from the presidential suite.

We need a politically astute leader with proven experience working with legislators at both the state and federal levels—someone who knows how to secure funding, safeguard academic freedom, and navigate complex political terrain without compromising the university’s core values. Especially in this highly politicized moment for higher education, we need a president who understands the stakes. Above all, we need a courageous changemaker—someone unafraid to challenge the status quo and willing to stand firm when equity and innovation encounter resistance.

The next president must be a listener, someone who builds trust through humility, openness, and accountability. A person for whom Michigan is the destination, not a launchpad to Harvard, Florida, or the next high-profile opportunity.

I also understand that you may feel pressure to make a bold, attention-grabbing choice—especially given how the last two presidencies turned out. On paper, they had the right pedigree. But in reality, they were the wrong fit. I urge you: get the fit right. Don’t worry about impressing national observers, donors, or peer institutions. Focus on finding the person who understands Michigan’s soul and is ready to lead it into a more inclusive, dynamic future.

The University of Michigan deserves no less than a leader who sees this institution not as a career ladder, but as the summit—a place where academic excellence, public service, and transformational leadership converge.

In the end, we need someone who loves Michigan as much as me—and as much as you.

Go Blue!

Julian Vasquez Heilig

University of Michigan Alumnus (B.A. 1997, M.A. 1999)

Second-Generation Wolverine