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Michigan State, Roiled by Turmoil, Hires U.N.C. Chancellor as President
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useapen
Dec 9, 2023, 4:00:39 AM12/9/23
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Michigan State University confirmed a new president on Friday, an attempt
to introduce a permanent leader after years of turnover, scandal and
internal strife.
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, a neuroscientist who has served as chancellor at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 2019, was unanimously
voted president by the board of trustees on Friday and will begin his term
in March.
Dr. Guskiewicz is the sixth president of Michigan State in six years. The
university was roiled by a sexual abuse scandal when Larry Nassar, a
doctor who worked with gymnasts at the school, pleaded guilty in 2017 of
molesting girls under the guise of giving them medical treatment, and
school officials came under fire for not stepping in quickly to stop the
abuse.
Since then, Mel Tucker, a football coach, was fired and found by
university investigators to have violated the university’s sexual
misconduct policy. In a separate incident, at a football game this fall,
Michigan State showed an image of Adolf Hitler on its video screens during
a pregame quiz, prompting an apology.
The board of trustees at Michigan State has had public infighting for
months over governance, ethics and allegations of bullying.
The accumulation of disputes and embarrassments even prompted Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a graduate of the university, to denounce
Michigan State in October for a lack of “clear unified leadership or
direction and tragically no accountability, either.”
In an interview on Friday, Dr. Guskiewicz, who has spent 28 years at the
University of North Carolina, said that one of his first goals was to
increase transparency at Michigan State and reassure the university
community after years of tumult.
“It’s a place that’s craving stability,” he said. “There certainly has
been some challenges over the past five to seven years. And I know that
I’m going to bring experience and expertise from U.N.C. Chapel Hill. We’ve
had our own share of challenges. And, you know, for some of these things,
there’s no playbook for it. And you have to lean on your instinct and
surround yourself with really good people.”
Dennis Denno, chairman of the university’s presidential search committee,
said of Dr. Guskiewicz in a statement: “We are confident that he has the
intellectual vision, broad worldview and personal integrity to inspire our
university community to new levels of excellence. And we look forward to
working alongside him to foster a climate of community, engagement and
mutual respect.”
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Dr. Guskiewicz, a native of Latrobe, Pa., visited Michigan State for the
first time in November, on a campus visit with his wife, Amy, before he
interviewed for the job of president in Detroit. He went for a jog around
the sprawling campus and attended a football game, he said, “an important
step for me because we believe in being part of the campus community and
we want to be in a place that it feels good.”
Dr. Guskiewicz is moving from one politically charged job to another. In
recent years, North Carolina Republicans, who control the State
Legislature, have asserted vast power over the state university system,
stamping its assorted board with allies who have shaped campus personnel
decisions, altered research ambitions and influenced the fate of a
Confederate statue on the campus in Chapel Hill.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, a Democrat, said Friday that Dr.
Guskiewicz’s decision to leave U.N.C. — one of the most academically
renowned public universities in the country — for Michigan State was an
indictment of North Carolina’s recent approach to higher education.
“U.N.C. governing boards with extreme appointees controlled completely by
legislative Republicans seem to prefer chaos and meddling over sound and
stable leadership, and these actions will ultimately hurt our state’s
economy and reputation,” Governor Cooper, who earned undergraduate and law
degrees at U.N.C. Chapel Hill, said in a statement.
The U.N.C. System did not comment on the governor’s statement.
Alan Blindercontributed reporting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/us/michigan-state-university-president-
kevin-guskiewicz.html
to introduce a permanent leader after years of turnover, scandal and
internal strife.
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, a neuroscientist who has served as chancellor at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 2019, was unanimously
voted president by the board of trustees on Friday and will begin his term
in March.
Dr. Guskiewicz is the sixth president of Michigan State in six years. The
university was roiled by a sexual abuse scandal when Larry Nassar, a
doctor who worked with gymnasts at the school, pleaded guilty in 2017 of
molesting girls under the guise of giving them medical treatment, and
school officials came under fire for not stepping in quickly to stop the
abuse.
Since then, Mel Tucker, a football coach, was fired and found by
university investigators to have violated the university’s sexual
misconduct policy. In a separate incident, at a football game this fall,
Michigan State showed an image of Adolf Hitler on its video screens during
a pregame quiz, prompting an apology.
The board of trustees at Michigan State has had public infighting for
months over governance, ethics and allegations of bullying.
The accumulation of disputes and embarrassments even prompted Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a graduate of the university, to denounce
Michigan State in October for a lack of “clear unified leadership or
direction and tragically no accountability, either.”
In an interview on Friday, Dr. Guskiewicz, who has spent 28 years at the
University of North Carolina, said that one of his first goals was to
increase transparency at Michigan State and reassure the university
community after years of tumult.
“It’s a place that’s craving stability,” he said. “There certainly has
been some challenges over the past five to seven years. And I know that
I’m going to bring experience and expertise from U.N.C. Chapel Hill. We’ve
had our own share of challenges. And, you know, for some of these things,
there’s no playbook for it. And you have to lean on your instinct and
surround yourself with really good people.”
Dennis Denno, chairman of the university’s presidential search committee,
said of Dr. Guskiewicz in a statement: “We are confident that he has the
intellectual vision, broad worldview and personal integrity to inspire our
university community to new levels of excellence. And we look forward to
working alongside him to foster a climate of community, engagement and
mutual respect.”
Editors’ Picks
It’s Covid Season. What Are the New Rules for Staying Safe?
A Book Club Took 28 Years to Read ‘Finnegans Wake.’ Now, It’s Starting
Over.
Are Low-Fat Dairy Products Really Healthier?
Dr. Guskiewicz, a native of Latrobe, Pa., visited Michigan State for the
first time in November, on a campus visit with his wife, Amy, before he
interviewed for the job of president in Detroit. He went for a jog around
the sprawling campus and attended a football game, he said, “an important
step for me because we believe in being part of the campus community and
we want to be in a place that it feels good.”
Dr. Guskiewicz is moving from one politically charged job to another. In
recent years, North Carolina Republicans, who control the State
Legislature, have asserted vast power over the state university system,
stamping its assorted board with allies who have shaped campus personnel
decisions, altered research ambitions and influenced the fate of a
Confederate statue on the campus in Chapel Hill.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, a Democrat, said Friday that Dr.
Guskiewicz’s decision to leave U.N.C. — one of the most academically
renowned public universities in the country — for Michigan State was an
indictment of North Carolina’s recent approach to higher education.
“U.N.C. governing boards with extreme appointees controlled completely by
legislative Republicans seem to prefer chaos and meddling over sound and
stable leadership, and these actions will ultimately hurt our state’s
economy and reputation,” Governor Cooper, who earned undergraduate and law
degrees at U.N.C. Chapel Hill, said in a statement.
The U.N.C. System did not comment on the governor’s statement.
Alan Blindercontributed reporting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/us/michigan-state-university-president-
kevin-guskiewicz.html
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