In March 2026, J. Michael Haynie was selected by Syracuse University’s Board of Trustees to serve as the institution’s 13th Chancellor and President. Chancellor-Elect Haynie brings to the role more than a decade of distinguished senior leadership at Syracuse University, a record of transformative scholarship and a lifelong commitment to public service.

Currently, Haynie serves as Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives & Innovation and Executive Dean of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, where he was responsible for an expansive portfolio of academic programs, innovation initiatives, and administrative functions. Haynie is also the founder and Executive Director of Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families, the nation’s first interdisciplinary academic institute chartered to advance the policy, economic, and wellness concerns of America’s veterans and military-connected families. Haynie is also the visionary behind the National Veterans Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building, a first-of-its-kind hub dedicated to veteran and military-connected student success. In 2018, he was named a University Professor — the most senior and selective academic rank conferred upon faculty at Syracuse University.

Widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost scholars in the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation, and strategy, Haynie serves on the editorial boards of leading academic journals in his discipline and is an appointee to the CNBC Disruptor 50 Council, a group of the world’s preeminent thinkers in innovation and entrepreneurship. He is regularly sought out by private- and public-sector leaders for counsel on issues related to entrepreneurship, innovation, and the needs of military-connected communities.

Haynie’s has an extensive record of national public service. In 2013, he was appointed to serve as Chairman of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Employment and Training. In 2015, the White House appointed him to serve as Vice Chairman, and subsequently Chairman, of a Presidential Task Force chartered to set the course for long-term reform at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He currently serves as a member of the George W. Bush Institute Advisory Council, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Federal Advisory Committee on Veterans and Higher Education, and on the Board of Directors for Crouse Hospital and the Crouse Health System.

Haynie has received numerous honors for his scholarship, teaching, and public engagement. In 2013, his pioneering work on behalf of veterans was the subject of a feature report by CBS News’ 60 Minutes. In 2020, he was inducted into the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honor in recognition of his commitment to equality and inclusion, and that same year, Time magazine named him one of 16 individuals working toward building a more equal America. He has also been recognized by the HillVets100 as among the nation’s 100 most influential military veterans. In 2021, Haynie received Syracuse University’s highest honor — the Chancellor’s Medal — for his leadership of the University’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Haynie earned his Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship and Business Strategy from the University of Colorado Boulder, his M.B.A. from the University of Oregon, and his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Delaware. Before embarking on his academic career, he served for 14 years as a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force.