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Kevin M. Guskiewicz, PhD | President

Michigan State University, President

Following an extensive national search, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appoint Dr. Kevin M. Guskiewicz, current chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as the 22nd President of MSU. 

Guskiewicz is a renowned neuroscientist and expert on sport-related concussions who founded the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center. He received a MacArthur Fellowship for his research in 2011, and in 2013, Time named him a “Game Changer,” one of 18 “innovators and problem-solvers that are inspiring change in America” as his work influenced concussion guidelines in the NFL and NCAA. He continues to do active research as the co-principal investigator on two multi-center research grants.

Prior to joining MSU, Guskiewicz has spent the majority of his academic leadership career at UNC-Chapel Hill, moving from a professor and chair in the Department of Exercise and Sports to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2016, to becoming Chancellor in 2019. As Chancellor, Guskiewicz led the school to a top-four ranking in public universities according to US News and World Report, as well as implemented the University’s 2020 strategic plan, supported UNC’s $1.2 billion annual research enterprise, and executed a $5.1 billion fundraising campaign, well over the initial $4.25 billion goal from 2017. Guskiewicz is also committed to outreach and access, launching Carolina Across 100 in 2020, a pan-university effort to partner with communities in North Caroline’s 100 counties, as well as an annual Tar Heel Bus Tour which brings faculty and staff across the state to see UNC students’ home communities and the impact of Carolina’s research and service for the state.

Guskiewicz received his BS from West Chester University, MS in Exercises Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh, and PhD in Sports Medicine from the University of Virginia Curry School of Education.

Read the full press release here.

This search was led by John Isaacson, with Mindy Cimini, Joanna Cook, and Debbie Scheibler.