President Seth Bodnar
Seth Bodnar was appointed as the 19th president of the 91次元 in 2018. His leadership is centered around the principle of inclusive prosperity, aiming to make high-quality education accessible to all and to help every member of the UM community reach their full potential. His collaboration with faculty, staff, and students has driven UM’s progress and positioned the university as a hub of growth and opportunity.
During President Bodnar's tenure, UM's enrollment has grown continuously as the university serves an ever-wider range of learners - traditional students, working professionals, and those seeking new skills. UM students are also succeeding at higher rates, with the percentage of students graduating within four years growing by more than a third since 2018.
Under Bodnar's leadership, UM has achieved record-setting success in various areas, including student retention, workforce training programs, and campus infrastructure renewal. UM also experienced significant research growth, culminating in its 2022 reclassification as an R1 research university, a prestigious distinction held by less than 4% of universities in the country.
Before his role at UM, Bodnar was a Senior Executive at General Electric, where he led digital innovations in the rail industry. He was GE Transportation’s first Chief Digital Officer and President of its Digital Solutions business, focusing on software and technology development for global optimization.
Bodnar also has a distinguished military background, serving as a Green Beret in the US Army’s First Special Forces Group and commanding a Special Forces detachment on multiple deployments. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserve and has taught economics at West Point, where he graduated first in his class and received both Rhodes and Truman scholarships, before earning two master’s degrees from the University of Oxford.
Read a more expansive biography of President Seth Bodnar.