Michigan State University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., today announced that Executive Vice President Satish Udpa is resigning from his administrative position and returning to lab and research work at the university.
“It is with a heavy heart that I accepted his resignation,” Stanley said. “Satish’s contribution, especially over the past year, has been vital to the university community. His stalwart and caring leadership is extremely authentic, something that so many pointed out to me when I started my role here at MSU. But I respect his wishes and desire to get back into the lab and the field that he enjoys.”
Udpa has been the executive vice president for administration since 2013. The Board of Trustees appointed him acting president following the resignation of Interim President John Engler in January, while the search for a new president was underway. Udpa joined MSU in 2001 as a faculty member in the College of Engineering, was appointed chairperson of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and then dean of the College of Engineering.
“I’ve told so many people over the years that MSU is our home — to both Lalita and myself,” Udpa said. “That will always be true. We both came here as faculty members and deeply involved in research projects. While I greatly appreciate the opportunity over the past years to serve in an administrative role, my passion lies in the lab, and I’m eager to get back to it.”
Udpa will return to the College of Engineering, where he will be engaged in research and fulfilling other academic responsibilities. Stanley said he has already begun meeting with the vice presidents who reported to Udpa in his executive vice president role. These positions will report to Stanley on an interim basis in the coming months as he determines the optimal organizational structure for MSU. Stanley noted that most of these positions reported to him when he first arrived as president at Stony Brook University, and he is comfortable with the oversight of these critical areas.