Eleven years ago, MSU President M. Peter McPherson was the dark horse in the search for the highest-ranking official of the university.
Though he served in the government under U.S. presidents Gerald R. Ford and Ronald Reagan, was a top executive at a national bank and devoted years to the Peace Corps, McPherson had no experience running a university.
"Frankly, the idea that I might go to be president soon was not likely because I didn't have the academic background," McPherson said, who was elected the 19th president on Aug. 17, 1993 - the same day he was named a finalist for the position.
The new president strove to banish any doubts about his abilities to lead. He urged faculty members to have more interaction with students and joined the effort by teaching a freshman seminar class on public policy.
"Certainly, there's an advantage of knowing a great deal about higher education," McPherson said. "But there's also advantages to outside experience."
And after 11 years at MSU with two riots, the addition of a law school, tuition increases, and study abroad expansions, McPherson has learned the in's and out's of leading a Big Ten university.
Now he is moving on: McPherson will leave the presidency on Jan. 1.
"This is both a sad and emotional period," he said. "But it's exciting to think about what might be next, too."
This isn't McPherson's first time leaving MSU. He once walked the paths along the Red Cedar River as a political science major and a student government leader. He is a 1963 graduate.
"Michigan State was always the place I expected to go to college," McPherson said.
He grew up on farm with seven brothers and sisters up in Lowell, a small community near Grand Rapids. Both his parents and all of his siblings attended MSU.
"I remember some high school teachers trying to convince me that I should go to (the University of) Michigan, but I'd never even considered it," McPherson said and laughed.
Other Spartans also were glad to have landed in East Lansing.
Former MSU President John DiBiaggio said McPherson's departure will likely be bittersweet after 11 years.
"You become very attached to a place," he said. "There were many nights I walked my dogs on that campus."
DiBiaggio served as president from 1985-92. He said he was teary-eyed his last days at MSU, but people reach a time in their lives when they'd like to explore other options.
"You move on to new challenges," DiBiaggio said.
The next step for McPherson is unclear.
"I'm 64 years old next fall and there's other things that I'd really like to do," McPherson said. "I'm very interested in the developing world countries, that goes back to the Peace Corps."
Rumors in the press have been circulating that McPherson might consider a position in the Bush administration if the president wins a second term. McPherson said he hasn't made a decision.
"I just don't know," he said. "I want to sort things out."
The only option McPherson said he won't consider is retirement, which isn't a surprise to MSU Trustee David Porteous.
"I don't know that anyone has his 24-7 capacity," he said. "The only speed that Peter knows is full-speed ahead."
Porteous said McPherson has a multitude of talents, including his work with the state government, his handling of complex issues and his love of MSU.
"It's his nature to always be fully engaged," Porteous said. "He's done an extraordinary job."
But not everyone shares Porteous' views.
History senior Holly Gist said she doesn't think McPherson donates enough time to listen to students' concerns.
"I've always had a problem with his unilateral approach to things," she said. "I just feel like he makes decisions based on an undemocratic process."
Gist is a member of the group Students for Economic Justice, who protested the invitation of National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to speak at commencement.
"I definitely think he has his own agenda," Gist said.
May graduate Misty Staunton sat in on the Board of Trustees meetings during the previous school year as the at-large student liaison. She said before she met McPherson, she had a negative opinion of how he handled affirmative action issues.
"When you get inside and you really get to know the person who is behind the decision, you kind of understand it better," Staunton said, who has sat in on breakfasts before the board meetings with the trustees and McPherson.
"He listens to what's going on," she said, adding she thought McPherson put energy into students' concerns. "I think MSU will look back in a couple of years and say they were fortunate to have him."
