Former Nine Inch Nails drummer joins University of Michigan faculty

University of Michigan is getting a Nine Inch Nail.

Chris Vrenna, former drummer for Nine Inch Nails who also worked with Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, U2, Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica and more, has joined UM's School of Music, Theatre & Dance as an assistant professor in the Department of Performing Arts Technology, the school announced this week. Vrenna starts his position in the fall.

Vrenna is a Grammy winner and he played with Nine Inch Nails from 1988 to 1996. As a member of the group, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. (That's him on drums in the "March of the Pigs" music video, from 1994.)

"It is both exciting and humbling to be joining the renowned faculty at the University of Michigan as an assistant professor of music in the PAT department," Vrenna said in a statement. "My father is a Michigan alumnus. He and I would spend Saturday afternoons watching Michigan football, so I grew up a Wolverines fan. This opportunity to become a professor at Michigan and move to Ann Arbor feels like a homecoming for me."

Vrenna, 57, originally hails from Erie, Pennsylvania. He previously served on the faculties of Southern Utah University, Athens State University, Calhoun College, University of Alabama, and the Madison Media Institute.

Vrenna received his master’s degree in music technology from Southern Utah University, and his bachelor’s degree from Kent State University.

agraham@detroitnews.com