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The University of Michigan Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday to elect C. Cybele Raver as the university’s 17th president, making official the choice announced Aug. 18. Raver will take office Dec. 1.

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• Get to know C. Cybele Raver
• What other leaders are saying about Raver’s appointment
• Raver’s biographical information

Raver currently serves as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Vanderbilt University, a role she has held since 2021. During her tenure, she has guided Vanderbilt past $11 billion in annual research expenditures, recruited eight new deans, launched the College of Connected Computing — Vanderbilt’s first new college in more than 40 years — and expanded the university’s academic footprint to New York City, San Francisco, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and West Palm Beach, Florida.

“Vanderbilt Chancellor (Daniel) Diermeier described her impact during her tenure there as profound,” said Board of Regents Chair Michael Behm. “Her national reputation for excellence, her transformational accomplishments, and her collaborative approach will benefit us all together as we face numerous challenges and opportunities ahead.”

A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Raver holds an appointment as the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology and Human Development at Peabody College. Her research on children’s development, education policy and poverty has attracted more than $24 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and others. Before joining Vanderbilt, she served as deputy provost at New York University and held faculty roles at the University of Chicago and Cornell University. She holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Yale University.

In her acceptance remarks, Raver said, “This moment means so much to me. Throughout my career, I have been profoundly inspired by the impact that universities can have, bringing talented people together across disciplines and supporting them to pursue bold ideas. Michigan does this better than many other universities that I can name, and it’s at a truly remarkable scale. My vision is for us to build on that vision, mission, and those values. We have the opportunity to make clear to the world all that Michigan can offer to this great state and to our nation through education, patient care and discovery.”

Raver’s appointment follows a national search led by the university’s Presidential Search Committee, with the assistance of executive search firm Spencer Stuart.

President Domenico Grasso will continue serving in the leadership role through Nov. 30, and the two leaders will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition.

“When the search began, we were looking for the very best, and we found her in Cybele. She has impressive accomplishments as a scholar and an academic leader and is an alum of what JFK called the Michigan of the East,” President Domenico Grasso said of Raver, who received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. “Please know that the Michigan community, across all three campuses and beyond, is here to support and cheer for you in the months and years ahead.”

Board of Regents statements on C. Cybele Raver’s appointment:

Regent Jordan Acker

“Thank you to my colleagues for this process and for finding a candidate that was in a really talented pool and rose to the top. In a world where we have lots of leaders, some better than others, it’s so important to have role models and people who are great, especially great female leaders. And I think about for my own daughters and I see Cybele and I say, ‘This is a person that is not just a leader, but as someone that we can be proud of and proud to have as our president.’”

Regent Mark Bernstein

“All around us, our mission is never more visible as we see our students beginning their journey here. It is, indeed, a moment of transformation for our students, and that is why it is so fitting that this meeting marks a moment of transformation for our university. Today, I’m so very proud to elect Dr. Cybele Raver to serve as our next president because she understands how a great university changes lives and impacts our society.

All of us on the board, during this process, were struck by her clear vision and sense of purpose, her success as a leader in higher education, her appreciation for the unique challenges and opportunities at Michigan — and I would say of equal and maybe greatest importance, her decency and her integrity. Dr. Raver’s journey has led her here to this very moment. She is more than ready to be a university president, and most importantly, she’s ready to be our president.”

Regent Paul Brown

“To Cybele, first, your family. Thank you so much for having raised such an amazing daughter in a house of artists. I think that is an important aspect of your background, which we’ll all be able to benefit from. I grew up in northern Michigan, a long way from the Ann Arbor campus, but I can tell you the passion and the importance of the University of Michigan is just as important in the U.P. as it is in Downriver.

When we did one of our interviews up in my hometown, it was particularly poignant for me and I could see the difference in the focus you’re going to have to do what I think is the role of this university, which is purely to support humanity, and particularly the people of the state of Michigan, and you understand that responsibility. … We had an amazing group of qualified candidates, but it was obvious you were the brightest and the best. And you will continue to make this university the leaders and the best.”

Regent Sarah Hubbard

“I’d say to Dr. Cybele Raver, she really understands the scale and complexity of a university like ours, one with a world-class academic core, major research enterprise, academic medical center, and a public mission that extends well beyond Ann Arbor. Her background in developmental science, her experience at NYU, Cornell, and Chicago, before Vanderbilt, all of that has demonstrated her ability to build strong teams and gives me real confidence in her ability to lead Michigan through this moment.

It’s a pivotal time for our university. We need a president who can unite our campus community, strengthen our research standing, and protect what makes Michigan the best public university in the country. I am delighted and thrilled to help elect Dr. Raver to be our next president. Welcome.”

Regent Denise Ilitch

“Our new president is a very trusted individual and will continue to build trust in our community. She is a strong listener. She wants to hear everybody’s viewpoints, and that will be a key, I think, to her success. She’s well-rounded. She’s a team builder. One of my most favorite qualities of hers is that she’s a collaborator, and she gets everyone talking to everyone. And since we’re such a large community, it’s really going to be a gift and a skill to keep us unified in our same goal.

She’s a collaborator. She finds how to solve problems by collaborating. She’s an excellent scholar, that goes without saying. Another of my favorite things about her is her strong inner strength, and we all need that as Michigan personnel. She’s a change agent, too, and so she’s going to be very good at keeping up with what’s going on in our world and adapting when it’s appropriate. I really want to encourage the Michigan community to give her a warm welcome, let her have a honeymoon, and give her time and patience to learn our community, to learn the traditions of our community and to learn the Michigan way.

Her goal is to make an impact and change the world, and that’s what we do here at Michigan. We change the world, and we train leaders, and that is her ultimate goal. She passed up other opportunities to be the president of the University of Michigan. One added bonus, she’s really fun to be around. So you all are going to love that. So welcome. We are ecstatic that you’re here.”

Regent Carl Meyers

“As we gather here today, at this moment, right now, as we welcome Dr. Raver, Cybele, and now Madam President, as our 17th president of the University of Michigan. This has only happened 17 times, so all of you in the audience know that this is a special moment, and this is a special moment for the University of Michigan. This is a transformative moment. We have the right leader for this moment to move us forward. Cybele, I’d like to welcome you to the Michigan family, and I’d like to welcome Cybele’s family to the Michigan family as well. You are now officially all Wolverines.”