The Board of Regents in Michigan elected an ivy league provost on Friday to become the next president of the University of Michigan, CBS News reported.
Mark Schlissel, 56, will become the 14th person to run the university after spending the past few years as provost of Brown University.
He said he is "amazingly honored" to take over the school, which he called "a jewel of the American educational system."
"The University of Michigan is held in such high regard throughout the academy," Schlissel said. "The students you've trained here are leaders around the world. The doctoral students you've trained populate the academy, perhaps more than any other university."
"So, it's beyond a privilege and an honor. Words almost escape me."
Prior to his time at Brown, Schlissel was the dean of biological sciences at the University of California-Berkeley. He received both his medical and doctorate degrees from Johns Hopkins University and completed his undergradate degree at Princeton University.
Mary Sue Coleman, the current president of the university, announced last year that she would step down once her contract expires this summer. She will end her role as the school's 4th longest-serving president and was the first female to receive the prestigious position.
Before beginning her role at Michigan in 2002, Coleman was the president of the University of Iowa for seven years.
"I'm thrilled that they selected another biochemist," Coleman, 70, said on Friday. "Dr. Schlissel, welcome to a university unlike any other."
Schlissel is married to Monica Schwebs, an environmental and energy lawyer based with a firm in the San Francisco Bay Area, and has four adult children.
