Kevin Guskiewicz rips Michigan State board of trustees after taking job as Clemson president

Michigan State president Kevin Guskiewicz would have been one of the highest paid university presidents in the Big Ten if he had remained in East Lansing. Instead, Guskiewicz is headed to the ACC as the president of Clemson University after serving in the same capacity for the past two years at Michigan State.

Guskiewicz is leaving for Clemson after being offered an amended contract at Michigan State that would have paid him more than 2 million dollars per year if he had remained in his current job. Guskiewicz will be paid substantially less at Clemson.

Publicly commenting for the first time since taking the job as president at Clemson University, Guskiewicz acknowledged his frustration with the Michigan State Board of Trustees, and the role that frustration played in his decision to change jobs.

“Effective university leadership requires a shared commitment to collaboration, trust and a forward-looking vision,” Guskiewicz wrote. “While many across this university community have embraced that spirit, 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. While I firmly believe we are all better when there is a diversity of viewpoints informing decisions, our ability to make meaningful progress is hampered when disagreements move from offering alternative perspectives into publicly undermining decisions and putting personal interests above the best interests of the university and our faculty, staff and students. What is perhaps most troubling is the actions of some to abuse their access to privileged and confidential information to mispresent facts, manipulate situations and selectively use and leak that information to promote personal agendas.

“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. Furthermore, I appreciate the principled and ethical leadership of Chair Brianna Scott and past chair Kelly Tebay in supporting me as president throughout my tenure.

“While I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished these past two-plus years, I have always said that your health, family and faith must come first above all else. The ongoing and continuous nature of the aforementioned actions has created an unsustainable situation. So after thoughtful reflection, I have made the difficult decision to leave Michigan State University and accept an opportunity to lead Clemson University as its next president. This was not an easy decision, particularly because of the deep admiration Amy and I have for this campus, the people who care deeply about its land-grant mission and the many relationships that have made this experience so meaningful for us and our family.

Michigan State Board of Trustees Chair Briana Scott released the statement on Wednesday morning.

“We greatly value these past two-plus years under President Guskiewicz. His leadership has set the university on a positive trajectory and one that we can continue during this transition. Michigan State University has demonstrated resilience throughout its history, and the institution’s strength has never depended on any one individual. The university’s mission, talent and momentum continue just as they have for nearly 175 years.” 

Michigan State released a statement praising Guskiewicz for his leadership during his time as university president.

“Today, President Kevin M. Guskiewicz shared that he will be leaving MSU to become the next president of Clemson University.

“Over the past several years, he has helped lead important progress across our university, strengthening student success initiatives, advancing research and innovation, expanding community partnerships and reinforcing MSU’s land-grant mission.

“We are grateful for the leadership, energy and commitment that President Guskiewicz and Amy have brought to the Spartan community, and we thank them for the many relationships and memories built during their time in East Lansing.

“MSU remains strongly positioned for the future because of the extraordinary students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters who continue to move this university forward every day.

Guskiewicz said the following about his new role at Clemson.

“I’ve known for many years how special Clemson University is, and I’m honored by the opportunity to build on the extraordinary tradition of excellence and to help lead the University into the future,” Guskiewicz said. “I look forward to engaging with students, faculty, staff, alumni and the many South Carolinians whose passion and support have shaped Clemson into one of the nation’s leading global public research universities. Together, we will build on Clemson’s strong foundation while advancing student success, academic excellence and the University’s land-grant mission of serving the people of South Carolina and beyond.”

The Clemson Board of Trustees confirmed Guskiewicz as a university president by unanimous vote on Wednesday morning.

Guskiewicz has ACC roots having served as the chancellor at North Carolina prior to being hired as Michigan State president.