Syracuse named longtime campus leader J. Michael Haynie as its 13th chancellor and president on Tuesday.

Haynie currently is the vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and executive dean of the Syracuse Martin J. Whitman School of Management, where he began as an assistant professor more than two decades ago.

His appointment, unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees, is effective July 1. He will replace Kent Syverud, who will become the president of the University of Michigan.

“Syracuse University is not just an institution to me. It is home. It is a community that has shaped me, challenged me and gave me the privilege of doing the most meaningful work of my life,” Haynie said in a university news release.

“I am humbled and energized by the trust this community has placed in me, and I carry that trust as both an honor and a responsibility. The foundation we stand on is strong. Our best days are ahead, and I’m ready to get to work alongside our remarkable students, world-class faculty and passionate alumni in service to our highest purpose—academic excellence. Working together we will ensure Syracuse University remains a place where great ideas catch fire, where students discover their purpose and where bold ambition is matched by an equally bold commitment to the world beyond our walls.”

Syracuse Orange sports fans were left wondering what kind of bold commitment he was ready to make to returning Syracuse to an athletic powerhouse across the board. He told Syracuse.com, which shared a video interview, why the university needs a strong athletic program.

“My enthusiasm for Syracuse University athletics is very, very high,” Haynie said before he told a story that involved legendary basketball coach Jim Boeheim.

“Now, I had Jim Boeheim come over to the business school last year to do a fireside chat with me for all the students about leadership and team building. And Jim talked a little bit about the changing nature of college athletics and I interrupted.

“I said, ‘Jim, hold on a second.’ And there were 200-some-odd students in the room. And I said, ‘By a show of hands, how many of you came to Syracuse University at least in large part because you wanted to be at a university that had top-tier nationally relevant athletics?’ Easily 90% of the hands in the room went up.”

He continued: “If one of the reasons, among many, but one of the reasons that students are enthusiastic about Syracuse University is being at a university with top-tier athletics, that means we need to be a university with top-tier athletics.”

Since Haynie already works on campus, he will have a front-row seat to changes ahead for the athletic department. That starts with the hiring of a new athletic director, with a seven-member search committee already named to identify and recommend a replacement for retiring AD John Wildhack, who will depart at the end of the academic year.

Wildhack has said he would not hesitate to make difficult and impactful decisions despite the short time remaining in his employment. That includes the potential dismissal of men’s basketball coach Adrian Autry, whose Orange are (15-14, 6-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) with two games remaining on the regular season.

In three seasons under Autry, the Orange are 49-45 without an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Haynie has been a senior member of the Syracuse leadership team for more than 10 years. A former U.S. Air Force officer, he founded and is the executive director of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families, which the university said is “the nation’s first interdisciplinary academic institute chartered to advance the policy, economic and wellness concerns of America’s veterans and military-connected families.”

In 2021, Haynie was honored with the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest commendation at Syracuse, for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He holds a Ph.D. in entrepreneurship and business strategy from the University of Colorado, an MBA from the University of Oregon and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Delaware.

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