Haynie takes over as acting chancellor after Syverud shares cancer diagnosis
Mike Haynie assumed leadership of Syracuse University as acting chancellor after outgoing Chancellor Kent Syverud announced Wednesday he was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer. Avery Magee | Photo Editor
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UPDATE: This story was updated at 1:20 a.m. on April 23, 2026
Mike Haynie assumed leadership of Syracuse University as acting chancellor after outgoing Chancellor Kent Syverud announced Wednesday he was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer.
Haynie released his first public statement since Syverud’s announcement Thursday, saying he would spend the coming weeks in his acting chancellor capacity “listening, learning and showing up.”
“I ask that you hold Chancellor Syverud and Dr. (Ruth) Chen close in the days and weeks ahead,” Haynie wrote in a Thursday evening campus-wide email. “They are not taking this road alone—they carry with them the love, prayers and unwavering support of an entire community.”
Syverud will no longer serve as president of the University of Michigan, the school he was slated to begin at in May, according to a UMich statement. He will, instead, join UMich as a professor of law and special advisor to its Board of Regents.
The outgoing chancellor underwent care at Crouse Hospital and is currently undergoing treatment at University of Michigan Medicine, he wrote in a Wednesday campus-wide email.
“I want you to know that I am ready to meet this challenge. I am approaching this with optimism, with determination, and with full confidence in the people who are caring for me,” Syverud wrote. “I believe in the road ahead, and I intend to walk it with everything I have.”
Domenico Grasso, UMich’s interim President, will continue as president until a new one is appointed, according to UMich’s statement.
Jeffrey Scruggs, the chairman of SU’s Board of Trustees, said he and the board are “holding (Syverud) and his family close following “yesterday’s difficult news” in a campus-wide email Thursday.
“Kent approaches this challenge with characteristic optimism. He is determined to fight, and he will not face this alone. Kent and his family have the force of two communities behind them,” Scruggs wrote. “He may be a Michigan man now, but he is Forever Orange. And we will forever be in his corner.”
Scruggs confirmed that Haynie will serve as acting chancellor until his official appointment on May 11.
At Wednesday’s in-person University Senate meeting, SU Vice Chancellor and Provost Lois Agnew commemorated the outgoing chancellor with “a reflection on his legacy,” including his commitment to “steady leadership” and fiscal responsibility amid federal changes.
Agnew added that she’ll be working closely with Haynie in scheduling meetings to “establish extensive dialogue” across the university.
“These are uncertain times for higher education, but we’re positioned for success thanks to the strong foundation we’ve received from Kent Syverud, the vision and experience of our new chancellor and the creativity, generosity and resilience of this community,” Agnew said. “In the meantime, I know that you’ll join me in sending thanks and best wishes to the chancellor.”
Others also issued statements about Syverud’s health — including United States Sen. Chuck Schumer and Syracuse women’s basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack.
“To Chancellor Syverud: your words yesterday were a testament to everything that makes you a leader worth following. This community is grateful and we are all behind you,” Haynie wrote.
Syverud said he will provide updates on his health as he undergoes treatment.
“Syracuse University is in extraordinary hands, and I look forward to staying connected with this community that means so much to me,” Syverud wrote.
