Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Michigan State University

Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Michigan State University (MSU), the nation’s premier land-grant university, invites nominations and applications for the position of Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. One of the top public research universities in the world, MSU has 32 undergraduate and graduate programs ranked in the top 25 nationally. MSU is a proud member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, University Innovation Alliance, and Big Ten Academic Alliance.

U.S. News & World Report (2025) lists MSU among the top 30 public universities in the country (#63 overall) and the #1 public university (#8 overall) for education abroad. Times Higher Education 2023 Impact Rankings, which measure how more than 1,900 universities are making progress in working toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, ranks MSU 25^th in the world and 3^rd in the U.S.

With 3,452 faculty, 2,624 academic staff, and 7,926 support staff, MSU offers 400 academic programs across 17 degree-granting colleges. Focused on growth and excellence, the MSU research enterprise has grown substantially over the past 10 years. Total research expenditures were $844 million for 2022, closing in on the MSU 2030 strategic plan goal of $1 billion in annual expenditures. The University has a total economic impact of $6.8 billion in Michigan.

MSU enrolls 41,234 undergraduate students and 10,855 graduate students. Students come from all 83 Michigan counties, all 50 U.S. states, and more than 130 countries. Students of color make up 27.8% of the total domestic student body. The University boasts a 90% retention rate and 81% 6-year graduation rate, with the average time to degree of 3.91 calendar years. MSU has 542,415 living alumni worldwide.

Working with Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, senior leadership, deans, chairs and directors, and faculty, students, and staff, the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (“the Provost”) will help to shape and articulate the University’s academic and scholarly mission. The Provost is responsible for the administration of all programs of instruction and for promoting goals of academic excellence for the University’s faculty and students.

Key priorities for the next Provost include the following: providing vision and leadership to enhance the academic quality of the University and its faculty and students and advancing MSU’s national and international reputation and ranking; helping to operationalize the strategic initiatives outlined in MSU’s strategic plan; working closely with the academic deans to recruit and retain the best faculty and staff and invest in their career development; overseeing growth in MSU’s research portfolio; working collaboratively with the President and other senior leaders to develop a strategic enrollment plan that will pave the way for the next decade; working collaboratively to enhance the financial model (which will soon transition from incremental-based budgeting to a hybrid incentive-based model) to support the academic enterprise; leading deans to accelerate their emphasis on fundraising in light of a very ambitious capital campaign; ensuring that MSU’s academic programs, structures, and curriculum serve the needs of the state as well as evolving workforce needs and providing intellectual leadership for general education reform; partnering with MSU Information Technology to ensure that information systems are optimized to support teaching and research as well as overseeing the development of a plan for incorporating artificial intelligence into teaching and learning; supporting innovative programs to embed diversity and inclusion in the programs and culture of the University and enhance the cultural and ethnic diversity of faculty, staff, and students; creating infrastructure to advance interdisciplinary collaborations across schools and colleges; rebuilding institutional trust by involving stakeholders in institutional change and communicating clearly and transparently; enhancing the University’s global presence, recognition, and impact; and serving as the primary liaison to the Higher Learning Commission and ensuring that MSU is in compliance with the accrediting agency’s standards.

MSU seeks to appoint an individual who brings strong academic leadership to an institution deeply committed to its land-grant mission and to improving educational access and affordability. The next Provost will have a distinguished record of scholarship in their own academic discipline, suitable for a tenured appointment as full professor. The successful candidate will have immense intellectual breadth, be flexible and nimble in working across disciplines, and be able to move beyond their own field to champion disciplines across every school and college. The next Provost will be a collaborative leader, with a demonstrated track record of leading successfully through persuasion and the power of their ideas to achieve common goals among diverse stakeholders. The University seeks an academic leader who respects academic rigor and excellence as extremely high priorities, who values both undergraduate and graduate education, and who fully appreciates both tenure-system and non-tenure-system faculty. The next Provost must be a strong advocate for the liberal arts and a champion for academic freedom.

MSU’s next Provost will be an inclusive leader who is visionary, creative, and strategic, and also highly able to execute. The successful candidate must be committed to developing talent and to empowering other leaders to excel in their roles. The next Provost must have a thorough understanding of U.S. higher education, its international context, and its role in economic development, and must have demonstrated success at building diverse and inclusive communities. The next Provost must be an experienced leader, able to inspire others and build trust, and possess exceptional listening skills. The successful candidate should have a strong commitment to shared governance and welcome the input of MSU’s various constituent communities while being able to make difficult, data-informed decisions in a timely manner. Experience within a public R1 university is extremely valuable. As the University is interested in stable executive leadership, the hope is that the next Provost will be long-serving.

The full Position Specification can be found at https://bit.ly/MSUProvost.

Inquiries, nominations and applications are invited. Interested candidates should submit confidentially, in electronic form (Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF files preferred), a curriculum vitae and letter of interest to:

Dr. Jett Pihakis

MSU.Provost@russellreynolds.com

(202) 654-7800

For fullest consideration, materials should be received as soon as possible and preferably by February 10, 2025.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

As an institution of higher learning, Michigan State University is committed to providing a safe environment for its students, faculty, and staff in support of its educational mission. With this commitment, the University reserves the right to conduct a professional misconduct review of those who interview on campus for executive management and academic management positions; for the Provost search, this review will happen only for the finalist candidate, immediately prior to a formal job offer being extended.