She resigned after she was named in a report conducted by the Office of Civil Rights.

Sullivan was the University of Virginia's eighth and first female president, a position she retired from in July 2018. Prior to that, she served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan from 2006-10.

Sullivan will serve as interim president for the academic year. In the meantime, MSU will begin a national search for a permanent provost. The university will select a search firm and members to make up a search committee.

In 2018, Sullivan served as an adviser to MSU's Board of Trustees and presidential search committee, assisting in selecting MSU's new president after former President Lou Anna K. Simon resigned in Jan. 2018.

“I love MSU, and I’m committed to helping where I can,” Sullivan said in the press release. “I intend to work with the faculty, staff and students to further the university’s academic and research mission. Supporting the success of the faculty and the students is the most important focus of the provost, and I’ve made it my life’s work and mission to achieve these goals at all universities I’ve had the honor to serve.”

Sullivan — a graduate of the first class of the James Madison College — was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Mortarboard and Tower Guard. She was also one of the President Emeritus Clifton R. Wharton, Jr.'s first presidential fellows.

Following her years at MSU, she continued her education at the University of Chicago, where she received her doctorate before joining the University of Texas as a sociology instructor.