The chair of the committee searching for Michigan State University’s next president shared an updated timeline and new details. This comes just days before six planned “community input sessions” where students and staff can share their thoughts on what they want out of MSU’s leader.
MSU trustee Dennis Denno, who has been tapped to lead the search, hopes to have a job description by June, so the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller can begin picking candidates.
He said ideally, the board would announce its selection by Thanksgiving in November.
The vacancy was created in October 2022, when former president Samuel L. Stanley Jr. resigned, citing a loss of confidence in the board. The board has appointed former provost Teresa Woodruff to act as president in the interim.
Denno is a newcomer to MSU’s board; He and fellow Democrat Renee Knake Jefferson were elected in November 2022. In a recent interview with WKAR, board chair Rema Vassar said she selected Denno to chair the committee precisely because of his inexperience with MSU, describing him as “untainted.”
Denno said he took that as a compliment, saying he doesn’t “come in with any baggage,” alliances or preconceived notions.
Denno will be joined on the committee by fellow trustee Brianna Scott, a Democrat elected in 2018, who will serve as vice chair. Trustees Knake Jefferson and Dan Kelly will also sit on the committee.
Denno said they are currently soliciting “names and ideas” for the full search committee, and that they are hoping to have it completed in time for a series of “community listening sessions” beginning later this week.
The sessions are broken up by the stakeholder group:
They will be held virtually and participants are asked to register online ahead of the sessions. Suggestions and feedback can also be made with an anonymous online form.
Denno said his ideal size for the committee is in the “low 20s,” and that he hopes it will represent not just the various groups at MSU, but “every corner of the state of Michigan.” Denno also said he “doesn’t have permission” to be more specific about the members or make-up.
The 2019 committee which selected Stanley contained students, faculty, alumni and administrators in addition to trustees. Denno would not comment on how he hopes the new committee will differ, saying that they are starting fresh and not modeling their committee on previous searches.
Faculty and academic staff can nominate themselves or others to serve on the committee until noon on Friday, April 14. Those nominations will be reviewed by faculty members on the university's Steering Committee and communicated to the board, according to an email to staff obtained by The State News.
In February, faculty and student leaders met with the board for a “vibe check” regarding the board members on the committee taking a non-voting or non-existent role.
Faculty members were worried about board members acting as both members of the committee, the liaisons between the committee and the board, and the final decision makers on the presidency. They feared board members playing so many roles in the process would negate any potential influence of the faculty, students and staff on committee.
After that meeting, steering committee vice chair Stephanie Anthony told The State News that the board seemed receptive to the idea. But now, Denno indicated that trustees would remain members of the committee.
A presidential search website has been created and includes sections for search updates and community input. Community members can contact the search committee at presidentialsearch@msu.edu.
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