Michael J. Conaton was born in 1933 and died on Monday, April 22, 2024. He was Xavier University's longest-serving Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the first layperson to serve as an interim president (none had also served as president).

Conaton began as a student at Xavier in 1951 on a football scholarship. While on the team, "he earned three letters as a lineman and was part of a lead group of players nicknamed The Three Musketeers."... He graduated in 1955 with a degree in political science and entered the United States Marine Corps, serving as a lieutenant. In 1972, he began his first term on the University’s board, serving until 1978, and came back to serve again from 1985 to 2004. In 1986, he began his legendary tenure as chair, a position he held until 2004."

He was inducted into the Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018 and was a leader for both the Cornerstone and Century campaigns that led to major construction projects on campus, and serving as board chair for 18 years. He "joined the Executive-in-Residence program in the Williams College of Business, where he mentored students, and later served a stint as president of the National Alumni Association." He also served on the Xavier Athletic Advisory Board. The Conaton Board Room and the Conaton Learning Commons are named after him, and he established the Michael J. Conaton Family Scholarship Fund to ensure that future generations benefit from a Xavier education.

He worked for accounting firms in Cincinnati and Iowa before joining Midland Guardian in 1961 as vice president of finance. He held positions as senior vice president, chief finance officer, executive vice president, chief operating officer and director at Midland. He retired as president and vice chairman of The Midland Co. in 2006 but stayed on as a consultant for the new owners for several years." Source: https://www.xavier.edu/now/2024/michael-conaton-a-legendary-visionary