Michigan State University Interim President John Engler has selected Michael Zeig, director of planning for MSU’s Office of Planning and Budgets, to serve as his chief of staff in the president’s office. Zeig replaces Jane Miller who accepted a new position in the university’s athletic department.
“Dr. Zeig is an expert in university management having studied it extensively including shadowing the president and senior leaders at seven colleges and universities across the country during his doctoral studies,” Engler said. “His wealth of experience in strategic planning and resource allocation will be an incredible asset to my team and the university in this leadership role.”
As chief of staff, Zeig will be responsible for supporting the president in advancing the mission and interests of the university as well as implementing the president’s vision, initiatives and objectives. This includes serving as an adviser on key issues and policies and working collaboratively with campus stakeholders to advance projects to completion. Additionally, Zeig will supervise the president’s office staff and provide oversight for the administrative functions.
“Higher education administration has always been a passion of mine,” Zeig said. “I’ve done studies and presentations on integrated planning and strategic initiatives, shared governance, supporting faculty and institutional advancement. I look forward to bringing that perspective and what I’ve learned to this role.”
Zeig joined MSU in 2012 and has held positions in the Office of Planning and Budgets and president’s office. As director of planning, he was responsible for the development and execution of an annual integrated planning and resource allocation process across 17 academic colleges, 18 academic support units and 15 administrative and operational units.
Prior to joining MSU, Zeig worked at Central Michigan University and in the Granholm Administration in the education policy and external affairs divisions. As part of his scholarly work, he has been published nationally in journals including Innovative Higher Education and Change as well as other publications such as Trusteeship and Inside Higher Ed. He has also taught legal issues in higher education as an adjunct professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at CMU.
Zeig has a bachelor’s degree in political science from CMU as well as master’s and doctoral degrees in higher education administration from MSU. During his doctoral program, Zeig received numerous fellowships and awards including the Erickson Research Fellowship, Erickson Memorial Fellowship, James A. Wilson Fellowship and Margaret F. Lorimer Fellowship.