DEARBORN, MI — The University of Michigan’s new interim president Domenico Grasso was met with praise at a university Board of Regents meeting, Thursday, May 15, at the Dearborn campus.
There was also a group of pro-Palestine protesters who waited outside the board meeting.
Grasso was selected earlier this month to lead all of the university’s campuses. On Thursday, the university Board of Regents voted unanimously to affirm his appointment to the role.
The move to appoint Grasso to the interim role came after former university president Santa Ono announced he would step down to take the same job at the University of Florida.
“I’m cognizant that leadership transitions like this can sometimes be unsettling,” Grasso said.
“As president, I pledge to unite with our faculty and students and staff and the regents to continue broadening Michigan’s impact,” he continued. “We may not always agree, but I welcome the dialogue and exchange of ideas and perspectives.”
RELATED: Domenico Grasso: What to know about University of Michigan’s interim president
He also said when the time comes to welcome a new university president he envisions “Michigan as stronger and more essential than ever.”
Grasso came to the Dearborn campus in 2018 as a chancellor and professor of public policy and sustainable engineering.
Regent Katherine White said Grasso has demonstrated “honor” in his academic career.
“We thank you for everything you’ve done as chancellor of the University of Michigan–Dearborn, and we look forward to your leadership in the days ahead,” White said.
She also thanked the Board of Regents for “their swift action,” naming him interim president.
“In a moment of uncertainty, we have acted with decisiveness. In a moment of disjointedness, we have come together in unity,” she said.
A group of about 20 pro-Palestine protesters gathered in a hallway outside the meeting.
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside a University of Michigan Board of Regents meeting in Dearborn on Thursday, May 15 2025.Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com
Maryam Shafie, one of the protesters and a recent graduate of the university’s Ann Arbor campus, said they came out because it is the anniversary of the Nakba, the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in what is now Israel.
“We came out here today to hold the regents accountable for their complicity in this ongoing genocide and ongoing Nakba,” Shafie said.
They also came out because it was Grasso’s first regent’s meeting, she said.
They wanted to show him he will be “held accountable,” she said.
She also said she expects him to respond to the movement from Palestine and calls for the university to divest from Israeli companies “in different ways than Ono did.”
Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Ann Arbor” daily newsletter.