[1][2] Previously, he served as the 13th provost and executive vice president for academic affairs of the University of Michigan from 2010 to 2013.

While an undergraduate, he was a member of Alpha Delta,[5] the fraternity that was a partial inspiration for the 1978 film Animal House.

His doctoral dissertation Applications of the Quaternions to the Study of Imaginary Quadratic Ring Class Groups was supervised by Olga Taussky-Todd.

[6] After completing his postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hanlon joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1986.

He was the associate dean for planning and finance for the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts from 2001 to 2004 and the vice provost from 2004 to 2010.