EAST LANSING — Michigan State University is looking for its sixth president in eight years after years of trustee infighting led to what President Kevin Guskiewicz called an “unsustainable situation.”
One week after being offered a $2 million annual salary, with other perks that essentially doubled his pay, Guskiewicz is headed home to the Carolinas. And for a job that pays significantly less.
Clemson University announced Guskiewicz as the school’s 16th president during a board meeting on Wednesday, May 27. He was hired in a unanimous vote.
He is the second consecutive president to leave MSU because of concerns with the Board of Trustees.
“I am deeply honored, and incredibly grateful to accept the opportunity to serve as Clemson University’s 16th president,” Guskiewicz told Clemson’s board during a virtual meeting. “To be entrusted with leading a university as respected, ambitious, and beloved as Clemson is both humbling and inspiring, and over the course of my career in higher education, I have always believed that universities have the power and responsibility to transform lives and to shape the future of communities, locally, nationally and abroad.”
The Clemson board approved a $1.2 million base salary for Guskiewicz, about $800,000 less than he was offered from MSU.
Despite the $2 million offer and a contract extension to 2031, Guskiewicz wrote in a letter to the MSU community that he believes progress is strongest when everyone is working toward a common goal.
“While many across this university community have embraced that spirit, it has become increasingly clear that there are differing perspectives within the Board of Trustees regarding how best to move MSU forward,” he wrote. “At times, too much energy has been spent revisiting past conflicts and internal disagreements rather than focusing collectively on the opportunities and aspirations ahead of us.
“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. What is perhaps most troubling is the actions of some to abuse their access to privileged and confidential information to mispresent facts, manipulate situations and selectively use and leak that information to promote personal agendas.”
The last full-time MSU president, Samuel Stanley Jr., left the university under similar conditions. He released a video in October 2022 saying he “lost trust” in the board. A few months prior, board members offered Stanley an early retirement.
Prior to Stanley’s resignation, both the Faculty Senate and Associated Students of Michigan State University approved votes of no confidence in the Board of Trustees.
Four current board members were on the board when Stanley resigned, including current Chair Brianna Scott, D-Muskegon, current Vice Chair Renee Knake Jefferson, D-East Lansing, Kelly Tebay, D-Ann Arbor, and Rema Vassar, D-Detroit.
While four new board members have filled other seats, tension and infighting has remained, resulting in the university needing to find − yet again − another new president.
Clemson officials said they were thrilled to be able to hire Guskiewicz.
“Beyond his academic credentials, Dr. Guskiewicz brings authenticity, steadiness, and a genuine kindness to his leadership style,” said Clemson Trustee Cheri Phyfer. “In his time with us, he spoke with admiration for Clemson’s remarkable trajectory over the past two decades, and demonstrated a sincere appreciation for the Clemson experience. He brings both vision and humility to the role, and we are confident his leadership will guide us to even greater heights.”
The MSU board approved bumping Guskiewicz’s base salary up from $1.03 million to $2 million annually during a special meeting on Sunday, May 17, with some trustees arguing the new deal was necessary to keep Guskiewicz from leaving. Trustee Sandy Pierce said the extra money would come entirely from donors.
Board Chair Scott said Guskiewicz was being “aggressively pursued” and that he was growing frustrated with the board. In the same night, the board approved a new conduct policy muzzling board members in an effort to quash ongoing dissention that has embroiled board members in a series of disputes in recent years. Two board members have said that policy is unconstitutional.
Scott told trustees they were all aware that “our president is frustrated,” and noted she believed all the trustees wanted to “foster an environment where he can be successful.”
The board voted 6-1 for the raise, with Plymouth Republican Mike Balow voting no and Vassar abstaining.
MORE: MSU sanctions 2 trustees who refused to sign controversial board rules
Guskiewicz was not present at the meeting.
Scott did not answer a phone call from the State Journal on May 27, but shared a statement shortly afterward. She wrote the board will share transition plans soon.
“We greatly value these past two-plus years under President Guskiewicz. His leadership has set the university on a positive trajectory and one that we can continue during this transition,” Scott wrote. “Michigan State University has demonstrated resilience throughout its history, and the institution’s strength has never depended on any one individual. The university’s mission, talent and momentum continue just as they have for nearly 175 years.”
During the May 27 Clemson Board of Trustees meeting, Guskiewicz touched on his time at MSU, saying his work was focused on rebuilding trust with the community, which led to a period of immense philanthropic giving − something he’d like to bring to Clemson.
“At Michigan State, I inherited both significant challenges and extraordinary opportunities,” he said. “Together, our community has been focusing on rebuilding trust, strengthening transparency and reaffirming the university’s commitment to students, faculty and the people of Michigan, and during that time, we achieved the most successful years of philanthropic giving in the university’s history.”
He was set to appear on a panel during the Mackinac Policy Conference this week on Mackinac Island but was replaced by Provost Laura Lee McIntyre.
The previous Clemson president, Jim Clements, was earning $1.5 million after an October 2024 raise, according to the Post and Courier. The amended contract also came with a five-year extension. He retired from the university at the end of 2025.
Guskiewicz was hired by MSU in late 2023 for $975,000 a year, after serving as chancellor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He replaced Stanley, who led the university from 2019-2022.
Guskiewicz began his tenure at MSU in March of 2024.
MORE: MSU board votes to nearly double President Kevin Guskiewicz’s salary
In the fall of 2024, Guskiewicz received a 4% raise. Last year, the board gave Guskiewicz a 1.5% raise to $1.03 million per year and bumped his annual deferred compensation to $200,000 annually, up from $150,000 in his original contract. Meanwhile the university moved to cut 9% of its general fund budget over two years amid financial difficulties.
Guskiewicz is the fifth person to lead the university since Lou Anna Simon resigned in January 2018 hours after former MSU doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced in Ingham County amid a nationwide sexual assault scandal. Since Simon resigned, former Michigan governor John Engler, Satish Udpa, Stanley and Woodruff have also led the school.
In addition to his salary, Guskiewicz had use of the presidential residence, Cowles House, membership in the University Club and the Lansing Country Club, a vehicle and driver from the police department and a leased vehicle for business and personal use.
His exit comes at a critical time for the university. Athletic Director J Batt was hired by Guskiewicz, and this summer the university is launching Spartan Ventures, a nonprofit organization that is expected to allow MSU new avenues to raise money for athletics as it works to compete in an increasingly expensive college sports landscape.
A provision in the six-year, more than $12.6 million contract Batt signed last summer cuts his buyout to take another job in half if Guskiewicz is no longer MSU’s president. That means another school can attempt to poach the 44-year-old – whom Guskiewicz pried away from Georgia Tech due to their previous relationship – at a significant discount.
In December, trustees in a 5-3 vote approved MSU entering into a strategic brand management agreement with the new nonprofit, which is expected to officially launch by this summer. Trustees Balow, Vassar and Dennis Denno, D-East Lansing, voted no, raising concerns over the lack of oversight of the new organization by board members.
Detroit Free Press reporter Chris Solari contributed to this story. Contact Karly Graham at kgraham@lsj.com. Follow her on X at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Guskiewicz takes pay cut to go to Clemson, cites board dysfunction
Reporting by Karly Graham, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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