(Source: MIRS.news, Published 12/04/2023) Michigan State University has been trying to pick a new university president and the last of this current batch was the head of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said he has worked for the university for 28 years and has not made a decision about whether he would take the job as the head of MSU.
“Through the years, a variety of professional opportunities have been presented to me. My family and I must weigh each one, and we are weighing this one,” Guskiewicz said.
Alex Walters and Theo Scheer at The State News reported Guskiewicz was the only candidate left and would only take the job if the MSU Board of Trustees let him lead the university and not interfere.
“If I were fortunate to be selected as the next president, I would only accept the role if I were given the opportunity to lead (MSU) without undue interference; instead, leading in a trusted partnership with the trustees, faculty, and staff,” Guskiewicz wrote in a statement The State News obtained.
The UNC website shows Guskiewicz is a neuroscientist and has been part of the UNC Department of Exercise and Sport Science since 1995. His research helped influence the concussion guidelines in the NCAA and NFL.
He served as interim chancellor for the Tar Heels from February 2019 to December 2019. Prior to that, he was the dean of the college of arts and science at the university.
He was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He is married with four children.
The last update from the MSU Presidential Search Committee Chair Dennis Denno on Oct. 9 states the search for a new president was “not damaged by recent issues” and that the search continued.
The “recent issues” centered around former Spartan Head Coach Mel Tucker, who was fired for allegedly violating the moral turpitude provisions of his contract. Details of the harassment complaint against Tucker were leaked to the media.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter to the Board of Trustees after Board Chair Rema Vassar was accused of blocking the investigation of the leak.
David Jesse, former reporter with the Detroit Free Press, reported Vassar also did not get along with former MSU President Samuel Stanley, who was the last serving president of the university.
Stanley resigned from his post in October 2022 and the university has been run by Interim President Teresa Woodruff, who has said she would not try to be the full-time president.
