Board Chair Dan Kelly said Guskiewicz was the exact sort of candidate the presidential search committee had been looking for: "an experienced leader with the intellectual vision, broad worldview and personal integrity to inspire the university community to new levels of excellence."

In November 2023, The State News reported that Guskiewicz — then the chancellor of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — was one of two candidates the board was considering for the presidential role. 

Officially starting in March, Guskiewicz spent the first few months of his tenure touring the university and learning about different programs. Today's ceremony was the first glimpse into what initiatives he plans to implement.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and a multitude of university leaders said in pre-recorded remarks that they were excited for Guskiewicz to step into the role.

"I know you’ll be a strong leader," Whitmer said.

Financial aid, student success

To close graduation gaps and promote the "access and retention of students," Guskiewicz announced the creation of a merit-based undergraduate scholarship that would cover the full cost of attendance as well as a study abroad experience.

The scholarship, which will be launched for the incoming class of 2025, will be a way to attract "the top students from across the country," Guskiewicz told The State News in an interview earlier this week.

He also announced that MSU’s Spartan Tuition Advantage program would be expanded to offer additional scholarships to indigenous students.

Funding from Michigan’s "Sixty by 30" program, which aims to increase the number of adults in the state with a skill certificate or college degree, will help establish a "transfer student success center" on campus, Guskiewicz said.

This will help students with a two-year degree from other institutions complete a four-year degree, he told The State News.

MSU will begin offering Lansing-area high school graduates community service and internship opportunities to prepare them for college, Guskiewicz announced. 

Guskiewicz also announced the creation of a "First Gen Center," aimed at supporting the success of first generation college students. 

Changing curriculum

Following a review later this year, a team of "world class faculty" will make changes to MSU’s general education requirements, Guskiewicz said.

MSU’s general education curriculum hasn’t been updated in over 28 years, Guskiewicz told The State News. He hopes the faculty work group will consider the value of liberal arts and experiential education as they reform the requirements.

MSU will also create a council of civic, business and political leaders "to advise us on how to best prepare our students to meet current and future workforce needs," Guskiewicz said.

"We need prepared graduates for jobs that don't yet exist, occupations we probably can't ever imagine," Guskiewicz said. 

Diversity, equity and inclusion will remain a focus of the university, Guskiewicz added.

"This isn't about buzzwords," he said. "It's about leveraging the perspectives and lived experiences of every Spartan … It's the foundation for our very future."

Research

Guskiewicz announced that the university is "well on track" to reach its goal of $1 billion in annual research and development expenditures by 2030.

Last year, the university’s research expenditures were over $800 million, and this year they are expected to be around $900 million, Guskiewicz told The State News.

MSU is also moving forward with seven new research proposals in the areas of space electronics, computational biology and public health, Guskiewicz said.

In early 2025, MSU will be home to the state’s only "ethics institute," which will be focused on "institutional transformation," Guskiewicz said.

Civil discourse

Since starting his tenure nearly seven months ago, Guskiewicz has emphasized a commitment to promoting and empathizing with diverse viewpoints on campus. 

He continued that theme today, announcing a speaker series that will "focus on bringing thinkers and doers to our campus in an atmosphere of civil discourse."

Guskiewicz doesn’t try to avoid contentious situations, his former colleagues said in their opening remarks.

In higher education, "university presidents must make hard decisions that can't possibly please anyone," said David Perrin, Dean Emeritus of the College of Health at the University of Utah, who worked with Guskiewicz at the University of North Carolina.

"Will you agree with Kevin Guskiewicz 100% of the time? No, of course not," Perrin said. "What I can assure the faculty and staff at Michigan State University is that you couldn't ask for a president who will work harder to learn about you, listen to you, consider your perspectives and to always have the best interests of you and this great university first and foremost."

Guskiewicz "runs towards challenges as quickly as he will run towards the opportunities," said University of Southern California President Carol Folt, whom Guskiewicz succeeded as UNC Chapel Hill chancellor in 2019.

"You can't have a leader who sits behind a closed door these days on a university campus, or really anywhere," Folt said. "And Kevin never does that."

Guskiewicz took the presidency at a turbulent time in higher education, as students across the globe have demanded institutions divest from Israel in response to the country’s ongoing assault on Gaza.

His response to activism at MSU has been praised by some. In April, Guskiewicz visited a pro-Palestinian encampment within hours of its installation to speak with student activists. The encampment remained peaceful and ended within days.

When a divestment protest temporarily halted a board meeting during the summer, Guskiewicz privately met with student activists and promised to hold a meeting with university officials to discuss their concerns. The board meeting resumed without interruption.

Today’s ceremony proved to be another illustration of Guskiewicz’s relationship to student activists. A few minutes into his speech, activists began chanting, "Kevin, Kevin you can’t hide, you are funding genocide," and "Free, free Palestine."

Within minutes, the students were led out of the room.

"We love you, Kevin!" an attendee shouted after the chants of the protesters could no longer be heard from the auditorium. The adulation was met with applause and shouts of "go green" and "go white."

The demonstration, led by the Hurriya Coalition, started half an hour before the investiture. Protesters marched from IM East to around the Wharton Center, holding signs and chanting.

McKinsey

Many of the initiatives announced by Guskiewicz Sunday were first recommended by controversial consulting giant McKinsey and Company. 

MSU paid the firm $2 million to advise Guskiewicz on his first major actions.

To prepare for a looming "enrollment cliff" as the population of high school graduates decreases in coming years, the firm suggested finding $150 million in sources of new revenue.

Guskiewicz told The State News that he hopes the research initiatives and student success programs he announced would make MSU a "talent magnet," bringing in the needed revenue.

Absent from Guskiewicz’s speech Sunday were plans to pour more funding into MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), or to replicate the world class nuclear science facility’s success — items that McKinsey recommended.

Asked about his plans for the facility, Guskiewicz told The State News that he continues to view the FRIB "as a model for how we can think big and bold."