(Source: MIRS.news, Published 05/31/2024) Three months into his tenure as Michigan State University's 22nd president, Kevin Guskiewicz told MIRS the “shared governance” model that Board of Trustees (BOT) members previously agreed to has been a success thus far.
“It has been,” Guskiewicz said when asked if the promise has been upheld. “I’ve developed a good working relationship with each of the board members independently. I have been, obviously, working with them collectively as we're moving the University forward.
“I'm very pleased with where we are,” he said.
The shared governance model was something Guskiewicz said all eight Board members committed to before he agreed to come aboard as MSU’s president, after he previously expressed concern about his ability to lead the university without interference.
When Guskiewicz accepted the position, he said each of the trustees “looked him in the eye” and committed to a stronger MSU.
Friday, he told MIRS he feels like the Board is making “really good progress. Fantastic.
“I think that shared governance is always a work in progress, and it’s building trust . . . between those individual board members that need to work together as a board of eight,” he said. “It’s building trust with the board . . . trust with faculty leaders.”
The most recent conflict between members of the MSU Board began over a disagreement as to whether former interim President Teresa Woodruff should be awarded the permanent presidency.
It resulted in an external investigation and a 66-page report identifying how trustees maneuvered during this period, and concluding that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should consider removing Chair Rema Vassar and Trustee Dennis Denno, along with possibly censuring Trustee Brianna Scott.
The price tag of the misconduct investigation was reported by The Lansing State Journal this week to be approaching $2 million, which Guskiewicz said was a decision made prior to his arrival.
“The Board decided that . . . bringing in an outside group to look at the issues was important,” he said. “That was a decision that was made prior to my arriving, and so I support their action there."
“These things cost money,” he added.
On the question of MSU’s accreditation being under review as a result of allegations against MSU trustees, Guskiewicz said “That’s the job of the accrediting agency."
“Part of their job is to be sure that the shared governance principles that the university is held to are being followed,” he said. “And so I think when the Miller (&) Chevalier report came out and suggested that maybe there was some overreach . . . they asked for some additional follow up on it, but we are in good standing with the accrediting agency and looking forward to our reaffirmation process later this fall.”
In other news, Guskiewicz said, while his favorite place on MSU's campus is in a classroom in front of students, his personal favorite MSU landmark is Beaumont Tower.
