Mackinac Island ― Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blamed the departure of Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz on “some of the antics” coming from some members of the university’s Board of Trustees and said it highlighted the need to change the way the state elects board members at its flagship university.
The statement from the second-term Democrat came a few hours after Guskiewicz accepted a position as president of Clemson University in South Carolina and left the governor’s alma mater.
“This is disappointing, but also nobody should be surprised by this outcome given some of the antics we’ve seen from a handful of board members,” Whitmer said, noting that now both MSU and the University of Michigan are in need of permanent presidents for their institutions.”Michigan now faces an important moment, with both Michigan State University and the University of Michigan navigating critical leadership transitions,” she added. “I will be watching both closely.”
Just last week, resolutions were introduced in the House and Senate that would change the way university board members are chosen at UM, MSU and Wayne State University and the nomination process for the Republican and Democratic candidates for attorney general and secretary of state.
Currently, partisan UM, MSU and Wayne State board members and attorney general and secretary of state candidates are chosen at party endorsement conventions and then appear on November general election ballot.
But the joint resolutions introduced Thursday in the House and Senate would ask voters to change that process by amending the Michigan Constitution to place the secretary of state and attorney general nominating votes on the August primary ballot and move the university board election process to a gubernatorial appointment system.
Whitmer last week called the resolutions to revamp state university board selections an “interesting solution” that should be given “thoughtful consideration.” On Wednesday, she was more forceful in her support. “This time underscores why we need stable, accountable, and consistent leadership at our public universities,” Whitmer said. “The way we’ve selected board members needs to change. The bipartisan proposal to appoint university board members would help ensure institutions have the leadership and expertise to get things back on track.”
In 2024, the MSU board voted to ask Whitmer to remove trustees Rema Vassar, D-Detroit, and Dennis Denno, D-East Lansing, for purported violations of the university’s ethics and conduct policies. The governor could have held a hearing to hear testimony about removing the trustees, but decided after a year in June 2025 to reject the request.
“The denial of the request by no means indicates a condoning of the conduct alleged in the referral. Rather, it only means that other considerations related to the Governor’s removal authority weigh against removal under these circumstances at this time,” Amy Lishinski, deputy legal counsel for the governor’s office, wrote in a letter to the MSU Board of Trustees.
In a letter to the university community Wednesday, Guskiewicz said the behavior of several of the university’s trustees was the reason he decided to leave the university.
“While I firmly believe we are all better when there is a diversity of viewpoints informing decisions, our ability to make meaningful progress is hampered when disagreements move from offering alternative perspectives into publicly undermining decisions and putting personal interests above the best interests of the university and our faculty, staff and students,” Guskewicz wrote.
MSU Trustee Brianna Scott, when approached by The Detroit News on Mackinac Island Wednesday, did not immediately have time to take questions. But she later issued a statement thanking Guskiewicz for his service and said a transition plan would be released soon.
MSU Trustee Rebecca Bahar-Cook told The Detroit News Wednesday that board dynamics may have played a role in Guskiewicz’s departure. She said she was open to the legislative proposal moving board selection to a gubernatorial appointment system. MSU Trustee Sandy Pierce endorsed the proposal Tuesday night.
“I think if you look at the other universities that have appointed boards, they are much more functional than Michigan State has been in the past,” Bahar-Cook said. “I would like that for Michigan State.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Whitmer blames MSU board ‘antics’ in part for president’s departure
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
