Unrest-wracked Michigan State hires UNC chancellor as president

Unrest-wracked Michigan State hires UNC chancellor as president

Michigan State University confirmed a new president Friday, in an attempt to introduce a permanent leader after years of change, scandals and infighting.

Kevin M. Guskiewicz, a neuroscientist who has served as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 2019, was unanimously elected president by the board of trustees on Friday and will begin his term in March.

Dr. Guskiewicz is the sixth Michigan State president in six years. The university was rocked by a sexual abuse scandal when Larry Nassar, a doctor who worked with gymnasts at the school, pleaded guilty in 2017 to sexually abusing girls under the guise of giving them medical treatment, and school officials were criticized for not intervening quickly. to stop the abuse.

Mel Tucker, football coach, has since been fired and found by university investigators for violating the university’s sexual misconduct policy. In a separate incident, at a football game this fall, Michigan State displayed an image of Adolf Hitler on its video screens during a pregame quiz, prompting an sorry.

The Michigan State Board of Directors has had a public meeting fight for months over governance issues, ethics and accusations of bullying.

The accumulation of disputes and embarrassments even led Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a college graduate, to denounce the state of Michigan in October for lack of “clear, unified leadership or direction and, tragically, no accountability.” .

In an interview Friday, Dr. Guskiewicz, who has spent 28 years at the University of North Carolina, said 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 craves stability,” he said. “There have certainly been some challenges over the last five to seven years. And I know that I will bring experience and knowledge from UNC Chapel Hill. We have had our own share of challenges. And, you know, for some of these things, there’s no manual for it. And you have to trust your instincts and surround yourself with really good people.”

Dennis Denno, chair 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, commitment and mutual respect.”

Dr. Guskiewicz, a native of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, visited Michigan State for the first time in November, on a campus visit with his wife, Amy, before interviewing for the president’s position in Detroit. He went for a run 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 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 wielded great power over the state university system, staffing its motley board with allies who have shaped decisions about campus personnel, altered research ambitions and influenced the fate of a Confederate statue on the campus in Chapel Hill.

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said Friday that Dr. Guskiewicz’s decision to leave UNC (one of the nation’s most academically renowned public universities) for Michigan State was a criticism of North Carolina’s recent approach. North Carolina toward higher education.

“UNC boards of directors with extreme members controlled entirely by legislative Republicans appear to prefer chaos and meddling over strong, stable leadership, and these actions will ultimately damage our state’s economy and reputation,” the governor said Cooper, who earned undergraduate and law degrees from UNC Chapel Hill. , he said in a statement.

The UNC System did not comment on the governor’s statement.

Alan Blindercontributed with reports.