Top Stories of 2023: Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz Leaves UNC for Michigan State

To reflect on the year, Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted and defined our community’s experience in 2023. These stories and topics affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our region.

As far as his tenure went at UNC, 2023 was a busy year for Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz — but par for the course of his four-plus years at the helm. This year, it was less managing university responses to the removal of a Confederate statue, the COVID-19 pandemic, the departure of a UNC Police chief, a $5 billion capital campaign, delays in granting tenure to a high-profile professor and state laws that further shifted influence of public higher education decision-making powers to the legislature.

Instead, it was more responding to the end of a long-standing Supreme Court case his administration inherited, faculty concerns over North Carolina lawmakers cutting distinguished professorships and floating ideas of cutting tenure, departures two high-profile deans, protests by housekeeping staff for increased pay, protests by campus community members over the Israel-Hamas war, and the fatal shooting of a UNC professor on campus.

In the final weeks of the year, Guskiewicz formally charted his course away from Chapel Hill — taking the presidency at Michigan State University, where he will begin in March after leaving UNC in January.

Michigan State’s leadership has been in turmoil stemming back to the public revelation and subsequent criminal charges against Larry Nassar and his sexual abuse of athletes and patients. President Lou Anna Simon went on a leave of absence in 2018 while facing charges stemming from her alleged knowledge of Nassar’s abuse (the charges were later dropped due to a lack of sufficient evidence) and the university went through two interim options before settling on Samuel L. Stanley Jr. in 2019. But Stanley stepped down in 2022, citing dysfunction among the Board of Trustees and the board named Teresa Woodruff as interim. With Woodruff stating she did not want the permanent job, the MSU trustees turned elsewhere.

A report from the student newspaper The State News on November 15 first publicly revealed that UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz was linked to the job. The report said Guskiewicz and University of Texas at San Antonio President Taylor Eighmy were the finalists for Michigan State’s presidency — but as the State News was confirmed its reporting, the search firm for MSU told the paper that Eighmy had removed himself from consideration. Guskiewicz said in a statement on November 16 that while he was focused on leading Carolina, he was indeed considering the Michigan State opening.

“Through the years, a variety of professional opportunities have been presented to me,” he said. “My family and I must weigh each one, and we are weighing this one.”

That resulted in several weeks of waiting for both of the campus communities: one anticipating the likely arrival of a new leader, while another grappled with the likely departure of theirs. UNC Faculty Governance issued an open letter to the chancellor, while different campus coalitions and groups also either shared their praise of Guskiewicz’s time in Chapel Hill or concern of his departure.

On UNC’s last day of classes in the fall semester, though, a decision had clearly been made. David Jesse of the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Michigan State’s Board of Trustees would schedule a special meeting for Friday, December 8 to approve and announce Guskiewicz as its next president.

During that meeting, Guskiewicz laid out plans for the East Lansing campus that reflected much of his work in Chapel Hill as chancellor. He spoke about holding a listening tour when he arrives to better learn the needs of the campus community from different groups. He said he wants to identify a “true north” for students, faculty and staff to strive for as a university mission, a phrase he often used at Carolina. Guskiewicz also said he wants to implement Michigan State’s latest strategic plan and pointed to diversity and equity at the school as critical to making it the best possible campus it can be.

“I pursued this opportunity because I believe that my values and vision align so well with those of Michigan State,” Guskiewicz said in a video message, “and I share and admire your deep commitment to transforming lives through the power of teaching, research and outreach.”

Later that day, the chancellor issued a formal farewell to UNC.

“I have loved leading Carolina for nearly five years,” he wrote. “We have accomplished so much together, and I am proud of where Carolina is today. We have faced challenging times, but also incredible moments of opportunity. Thank you for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with me to ensure our status as the leading global public research university we have aspired to be. It has not always been easy, but as I have often said — easy is boring. We certainly have not been bored.”

“You are Carolina’s legacy and its future,” Guskiewicz said of the campus community, “and I know you will continue to be passionately public and committed to our vision. You will prepare our students to tackle the grand challenges facing our world. For 230 years, our University has been a shining light and an example of the promise of public education in this country. I am confident that together, our students, faculty, staff, alumni and the amazing supporters of our University, will continue to accomplish great things in the years to come.”

With Guskiewicz’s final day set for January 12, the UNC System had to move quickly to picking his interim replacement. According to the Chronicle for Higher Education’s reporting, UNC System President Peter Hans identified a leading candidate in the days after the initial report of Guskiewicz’s interest Michigan State: Lee Roberts, a member of the UNC System Board of Governors and private investment firm co-founder.

On December 16, that was made official. Roberts was announced as the interim leader of the Chapel Hill campus, set to assume the position following Guskiewicz’s departure — and the outgoing chancellor providing a statement on Roberts’ selection in the UNC System’s release of the news.

“I know that Lee is committed to the state of North Carolina and the important role of public higher education,” Guskiewicz said. “I look forward to working with him during our transition. He will build on the incredible work underway by our world-class faculty, dedicated staff, curious students and passionate alumni.”

“Public higher education is one of North Carolina’s greatest strengths, and I’m honored to play a role in serving the nation’s first and finest public university,” Roberts said. “Chancellor Guskiewicz and his team have done extraordinary work, and I’m excited to continue supporting the dedicated scholars, staff, and students at Carolina.”

What comes next for UNC now that Roberts has been chosen as its interim leader? UNC System President Peter Hans and Board of Governors leadership will be tasked with choosing a search committee for permanent chancellor candidates. That group, which is required to include a mix of campus representatives with UNC System representatives, will vet candidates and present a final, unranked slate of at least three candidates to Hans. From there, the system president will make his choice and present it to the Board of Governors for a vote.