Outgoing Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz came to the university with bold ideas that, whether those around him were on board or not, promised to reshape the university.
But Guskiewicz’s departure for Clemson University has raised uncertainty about the future of his initiatives as the trustees prepare to begin a search for his successor. An interim president has not been announced yet, but the board is expected to have a call Friday afternoon, Trustee Mike Balow said Thursday.
MSU was in a bit of a rut when the board hired him in December 2023. Just months before, the university’s head football coach, Mel Tucker, was fired for sexually harassing a prominent advocate for sexual abuse survivors hired by MSU. Then Trustee Brianna Scott, D-Muskegon, accused then board Chair Rema Vassar, D-Detroit, of misconduct, sparking an investigation that illuminated concerns about the governance of the university.
Guskiewicz became the university’s sixth president in six years in 2024 and just the second permanent president since Lou Anna Simon resigned in the wake of the sentencing of serial sexual abuser Larry Nassar in 2018. Guskiewicz was the sole finalist for the presidency after the other candidate dropped out.
The board needed someone with fresh ideas, energy and the ability to connect with Michigan State’s wide-ranging community. And Guskiewicz delivered, said Demetri Morgan, a professor of higher education institutions at the University of Michigan.
Several of those initiatives are in their early stages. Just last month, one of Guskiewicz’s earliest ideas for the university, the merging of the College of Human Medicine and the College of Osteopathic Medicine, was approved by the board despite faculty concerns.
It’s likely the initiatives spearheaded by Guskiewicz will continue, Morgan said. The organizational infrastructure, such as the teams leading the changes, is still in place and it would “look bad” for the university or the next president to completely abandon what Guskiewicz developed before they could fully be put into place.
MSU spokesperson Amber McCann did not immediately respond to requests by The Detroit News to interview Board Chair Brianna Scott or Provost Laura Lee McIntyre.
Where do Guskiewicz-led initiatives stand?
Guskiewicz set most of his and his administration’s plans into effect before he was announced as the next president of Clemson University.
A steering committee is underway to determine how operations and academics will work in his “One Team, One Health” initiative. Along with Guskiewicz, McIntyre is sponsoring the committee’s work, and it is being chaired by Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine Joyce deJong and interim Dean of the College of Human Medicine Supratik Rayamajhi.
Guskiewicz developed Spartan Ventures, a nonprofit that will raise money for the athletic department, alongside the university’s Athletic Director and longtime colleague J Batt. Guskiewicz was one of the seven members of the board, which includes the board chair and Batt. The development is well underway, and the nonprofit has a targeted launch date of July 1.
But the next president could have other interests that might differ from Guskiewicz’s specific priorities, which could make it hard to sustain interest, UM’s Morgan said.
“I don’t see them disbanding (Spartan Ventures) because you have all these other very visible people connected to it, but you also don’t know if your next president will be as dialed into athletics as President Guskiewicz, given that his own research agenda as a neuroscientist was focused on athletics,” Morgan said.
Guskiewicz also made several key hires, including McIntyre and Batt. Other top executives hired after Guskiewicz took the reins include Vice President of Government Relations Rebecca DeVooght, Vice President for Student Affairs James Hintz and Vice President for Research and Innovation Shashank Priya.
satwood@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Guskiewicz’s MSU plans face uncertainty but advance as search looms
Reporting by Sarah Atwood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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