(WXYZ) — Kevin Guskiewicz is staying on as the president of Michigan State University, more than a month after it was announced he was leaving the university for a position at Clemson.
Guskiewicz is a neuroscientist and previously served as the chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and began his tenure as MSU's 22nd president in 2024.
In May, Clemson announced that Guskiewicz would be the university's 16th president. That post has since been deleted off the university's website, and the university posted Monday, "The Clemson University Board of Trustees was notified today (7/6/26) that Kevin Guskiewicz has chosen to remain at Michigan State University for personal reasons. The national search had a robust pool of candidates, and the Board will be meeting soon to determine next steps."
In a letter to the Spartan community at the time, Guskiewicz expressed frustration with a few of the university's trustees.
"It has become increasingly clear that there are differing perspectives within the Board of Trustees regarding how best to move MSU forward. 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," he wrote, adding later, "Despite this discouraging behavior by a few trustees, I am appreciative of the five trustees who recently voted to strengthen their code of ethics and conduct in alignment with what our national governance advisors have said are best practices for university boards."
In early June, a campaign started across the university with signs popping up that read "We Heart Kevin G," according to The State News. A website also allowed people to leave a message for Guskiewicz and download graphics to show their support for him.
Guskiewicz stepped into the role following Dr. Theresa Woodruff, who was the interim president at the university. She joined MSU in 2020 as the new provost and executive vice president for academic affairs before being appointed interim president in 2022.
Samuel Stanley Jr. stepped down in November 2022 when the board asked him to retire early following his execution of Title Nine investigations, which deals with sexual assault and discrimination.
Weeks after the Guskiewicz announcement at Clemson, it was announced that J Batt, MSU's athletic director, was leaving to take the same job at the University of Kentucky.
