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  • 9 reasons to love being a Spartan

    Aug. 28, 2026

    9 reasons to love being a Spartan

  • NIH awards multi-university team over $4M to improve women’s health

    Sept. 15, 2026

    NIH awards multi-university team over $4M to improve women’s health

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MSU Administration and Governance

May 9, 2023

Full committee named for MSU presidential search

By: Emily Guerrant

The search committee for Michigan State University’s next president was announced today by the Board of Trustees members leading the search.

Trustee Dennis Denno is chairperson of the search committee and Trustee Brianna Scott is serving as vice chair. Trustees Dan Kelly and Renee Knake Jefferson also are serving on the committee.

Denno said the full search committee includes a cross section of the university community as well as key additional viewpoints that add diverse and well-rounded perspectives as the search process gets underway.

Included in the committee makeup are representatives from the undergraduate and graduate student body, university faculty, support staff, alums, athletic coaches and state leaders.

“The full search committee is reflective of the diverse voices and perspectives of those who care about Michigan State University,” said Denno. “Our commitment from the onset has been to ensure an inclusive process that leads us to a top candidate for the university’s 22nd president.”

The full committee includes: 

  • Kate Birdsall, associate professor and director of the Cube in the College of Arts and Letters, president of the Union of Non-Tenure Track Faculty
  • Sid Bogan, chief of security and safety, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department
  • Kendra Cheruvelil, dean and professor, Lyman Briggs College, and co-director of the Data-Intensive Landscape Limnology Laboratory
  • Jim Cotter, MSU alum and former director of admissions 
  • Prabu David, vice provost for faculty and academic staff development, interim associate provost for teaching and learning innovation
  • Dennis Denno, MSU trustee
  • Lupe Dominguez, office assistant, College of Music, and executive board member, Chicano/Latino Faculty, Staff, Specialist and Graduate Student Association
  • Luis Alonzo Garcia, director and principal investigator of Migrant Student Services and senior specialist
  • Emily Hoyumpa, president, Associated Students of Michigan State University 
  • Tom Izzo, men’s basketball head coach
  • Jerlando Jackson, dean and MSU Foundation Professor of Education, College of Education
  • Hannah Jeffery, president, Council of Graduate Students
  • Dan Kelly, MSU trustee 
  • Karen Kelly-Blake, chairperson of the Faculty Senate and University Steering Committee, associate professor, College of Human Medicine, and associate director of academic programming, Center for Bioethics and Social Justice
  • Leo Kempel, dean and Dennis P. Nyquist Endowed Professor of Electromagnetics, College of Engineering 
  • Renee Knake Jefferson, MSU trustee
  • Christopher Long, dean, College of Arts and Letters and the Honors College, MSU Foundation Professor
  • Cynthia Neeley, State representative, 70th House District
  • Dave Porteous, attorney, McCurdy, Wotila and Porteous, PC, and chairperson emeritus of the MSU Board of Trustees
  • Brianna Scott, MSU trustee
  • Wenona Singel, associate professor and director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center, College of Law
  • Leigh Small, dean and professor, College of Nursing 
  • Steve St. Andre, chairperson and founder, Shift Digital, and MSU alum
  • Shawn Starr, Stock handler and president, AFSCME Local 1585
  • Marty Vanderploeg, nonexecutive chairperson, Workiva Inc., MSU alum
  • Lorraine Weatherspoon, professor and associate chair and director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Sean Welsh, executive vice president/regional president, PNC Bank, and MSU alum
  • Melissa Woo, executive vice president for administration and chief information officer
  • Haitau Yang, incoming treasurer, Council of Racial and Ethnic Students and Council of Progressive Students; student adviser, Hmong American Student Association; and senior adviser, Asian Pacific American Student Organization

“I appreciate our fellow committee members for sharing their time, expertise and talents with us so that we may all work together to represent the interests and perspectives of MSU’s key stakeholders,” said trustee and search committee vice chairperson Brianna Scott. “Each of these individuals brings unique experiences and leadership that will be essential for the next step in our search process.”

The search committee members will review the comprehensive feedback offered through numerous campus open forums and listening sessions held to date and compile the characteristics and qualities desired in MSU’s next president. They also will provide input and feedback on the position description and screen and interview applicants to advance a pool of qualified candidates to the Board of Trustees for consideration.

The university community and public can follow the search as it progresses at presidentialsearch.msu.edu.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Emily Guerrant
MSU Administration and GovernanceMSU Leadership and ImpactMSU Administration and Governance

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