Former Provost Susan M. Collins receives Regents’ Citation of Honor

Former Provost Susan M. Collins speaking at commencement

The University of Michigan Board of Regents extended its appreciation and a rare Regents’ Citation of Honor to Susan M. Collins, for her service to U-M as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. The citation was approved by the university’s Honorary Degree Committee and was granted at spring commencement 2022.

Regent Katherine E. White said the Citation of Honor recognizes Collins for her “steadfast leadership and dedication to the university during a period of unprecedented challenges.”

As provost, Collins served as the chief academic officer and chief budgetary officer for the Ann Arbor campus, overseeing the activities of its 19 schools and colleges as well as its many institutes and centers. Upon her appointment, Collins began the process of restoring stability in that office and on campus, amid a global pandemic and all the uncertainties that came with it. As a scholar, teacher and leader, she recognized the value of diversity and inclusion, working tirelessly to make the university a place in which people of all backgrounds thrive.

“Provost Collins helped prepare students to become influential leaders and researchers ready to tackle real-world problems through steadfast service and thoughtful policies,” said Regent Ron Weiser. “A collaborator and leader, she lived her own adage, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’”

Prior to being named provost in January 2020, Collins spent a decade as the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. She served as Ford School dean from 2007 to 2017. Before coming to U-M, she was on the economics faculty at Georgetown and Harvard universities and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In February 2022, Collins was named president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. She began her new role on July 1, and participates in national monetary policymaking on the Federal Open Market Committee.