Syracuse University announces Mike Haynie as next chancellor

After a months-long search, Syracuse University has announced who will succeed Chancellor Kent Syverud.

Vice Chancellor J. Michael Haynie will be Syracuse University’s next chancellor and president. He will begin his term as chancellor in July 2026 when Syverud officially steps down.

“It is with my absolute honor and pleasure to announce that J. Michael Haynie has been appointed the 13th chancellor and president of Syracuse University,” said Jeff Scruggs, chairman of the Board of Trustees, at Tuesday’s announcement event.

Lisa Fontenelli, co-chair of the chancellor search committee, said there was no perfect candidate, and though Haynie will have a lot to learn, she is confident in his abilities.

“A portrait emerged of a leader who would dedicate ourselves to our mission, our people and our future,” Fontenelli said.

Haynie was elected chancellor-elect by the university’s Board of Trustees in March after a lengthy search process from the university’s chancellor search committee.

He said he was humbled and grateful for the opportunity to take over the role of chancellor.

“I want to start by saying I do love Syracuse University,” Haynie said at the press conference announcing his chancellorship after a 35-second standing ovation. “I love this community, I love our people, and I’m so proud and ready to serve as your 13th chancellor and president.”

Syverud initially announced his departure from the university in August. He has served as chancellor for the past 12 years and was part of the hiring of soon-to-be-former Syracuse Athletic Director John Wildhack. He will now serve as the president of the University of Michigan.

He praised the search committee that hired him, calling it the “very best of what it means to be Orange.”

Syverud was also the one to hire Haynie, and created the vice chancellor for veterans and military affairs position for him.

“I have had the opportunity to be at your table for more than a decade, and you have my deepest respect,” Haynie said of Syverud at the press conference.

As chancellor, Haynie will need to navigate the shifting economic reality of an American university. But his first task will be appointing the next Athletic Director. Last month, John Wildhack announced he will retire in July.

When asked about the naming of a new athletic director and potentially a new men’s basketball coach, Haynie said that he will “engage and be part of these processes.”

“This is an attractive set of jobs that we’re talking about, whether it’s the athletic director opening or potential other opportunities within our athletics program,” Haynie said.

Haynie will make history as the first LGBTQ chancellor and president of Syracuse University. He and his partner, Kevin, live in Cazenovia, according to the university’s press release.

“It’s part of who I am, and has been for my entire adult life,” Haynie said. “My partner and I have been together almost thirty years.”

There are 55 other current LGBTQ presidents and chancellors in the United States, according to LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education. Many lead small colleges and community colleges, including nearby Onondaga Community College, Ithaca College, and Colgate College.

“I think it’s not a novel, maybe, as it used to be, but, yeah, it’s very cool,” Haynie said.

Haynie spent much of his announcement speaking about how he will help students, promising to put them first. He said he will be an “active participant” in their campus lives.

“What I’m going to do first is listen. I want to hear from all of you; what’s working, where do we need to invest,” Haynie said. “I know this university’s heart, I know what makes it tick. I believe that our students are our clearest expression of our purpose. They are the source of my energy and my joy of this work.”

Haynie currently holds the titles of Syracuse University vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and executive dean for the Whitman School of Management.

Haynie has been a professor in the Whitman School since 2006, when he first joined the university. He is the executive director of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families, of which he is a co- founder. Fittingly, his press conference Tuesday morning was held at the National Veterans Resource Center.

Haynie has held a myriad of roles at Syracuse University in his multi-decade tenure at the university. He is now among a “Big 3” inner circle of senior leadership at SU made up of Syverud, Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Lois Agnew and himself.

“In the face of all the change and uncertainty that higher ed must confront, I am convinced that academic excellence is the engine that will sustain everything we value today and fuel everything we value in the future,” Haynie said.

In 2020, he was appointed as the school’s “coronavirus czar” by Syverud, and now oversees the school’s involvement with Micron Technology’s investment in Clay.

In 2021, he was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal, Syracuse University’s highest honor, for “his leadership of the University’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Haynie, a 14-year Air Force Veteran, received a Ph.D. in entrepreneurship and business strategy at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and his undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware.

He will officially start his term during the summer.

“The best version of Syracuse University is one that we will create together,” Haynie said.
”I will give this university my whole energy and my whole heart, and I’m ready to get to work, and I’m ready to serve.”