University of Michigan-Flint is losing leader at a critical time

• The University of Michigan-Flint chancellor will leave in September for a job in Illinois
• The Flint campus is in the process of trying to improve student enrollment 
• U-M President Santa Ono said he will announce an interim chancellor for the Flint campus in the coming weeks

The leader of University of Michigan-Flint will soon be leaving for a job at the University of Illinois. The departure comes at a critical time for the Flint campus as it seeks to revive its enrollment and finances.  

University of Michigan President Santa Ono announced Tuesday that Chancellor Deba Dutta will be leaving the Flint campus in a message to the university community.

“Chancellor Dutta has been a strong advocate for the UM-Flint campus even before he was appointed chancellor in the fall of 2019,” Ono said in his message. “He accepted this key position knowing the challenges that lay ahead — even before the pandemic disrupted everything.” 

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Dutta started his role in August 2019. His resignation is effective Sept. 15, U-M spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald told Bridge Michigan. 

Dutta is expected to receive a formal appointment later this week to be a senior advisor to the University of Illinois president, Flint’s ABC 12 reports. The University of Illinois System Board of Trustees is expected to meet Thursday where it will vote on appointments. Dutta is listed on the meeting agenda to receive $425,000 a year starting Sept. 16. 

Ono said he will identify an interim chancellor “in the coming weeks” and the school will launch a national search to select the next chancellor “in the coming months.” 

Since last fall, the Flint campus has analyzed its academic programs and student supports to identify how it can improve financial viability. Leaders are aiming to increase student retention and graduation rates while meeting the needs of the local community and regional businesses. 

Ono said Dutta has “maintained that commitment and strongly advocated for the transformation of the UM-Flint campus to better align the academic programs with the skills sought by employers throughout mid-Michigan.”

Ono said that work will be temporarily put on hold.  

“This transition also will require a pause in the transformation work that so many UM-Flint faculty, staff and students have helped to develop. The Board of Regents and I remain firmly committed to a brighter future for the Flint campus. I want to assure you the transformation work will move forward once we have a new campus leader in place.”