Guskiewicz Calls Out MSU Board of Trustees in Departing Letter

Michigan State's outgoing president is citing disagreements with the school's Board of Trustees as a reason for his departure.

MSU president Kevin Guskiewicz announced his departure from the school for the same position at Clemson University on Wednesday morning. That same day, he posted a letter online to discuss why he was leaving the school, despite being offered a hefty $2 million salary by the BoT to try to keep him. Clemson is reportedly only going to give him an annual salary of $1.2 million, in comparison.

Guskiewicz's Letter

Guskiewicz specifically brought up the Board of Trustees in his departing letter. Tension had been rumored in recent weeks, and the board (with some opposition in a 5-3 vote) passed an overhaul of the ethics code meant to limit how publicly members of the board could air their dissent.

Two members of the board, Mike Balow and Rema Vassar, both reportedly had their credentials to this week's Mackinac Policy Conference taken away as a result of each of them refusing to sign onto the new ethics code.

"It has become increasingly clear that there are differing perspectives within the Board of Trustees regarding how best to move MSU forward," Guskiewicz wrote in his letter. "At times, too much energy has been spent revisiting past conflicts and internal disagreements rather than focusing collectively on the opportunities and aspirations ahead of us."

"While I firmly believe we are all better when there is a diversity of viewpoints informing decisions, our ability to make meaningful progress is hampered when disagreements move from offering alternative perspectives into publicly undermining decisions and putting personal interests above the best interests of the university and our faculty, staff and students."

Impact on Future of J Batt

Eyes are now going to turn to J Batt and his future with the school, too. Guskiewicz hired Batt less than a year ago, and "alignment" was something Guskiewicz, Batt, and new head football coach Pat Fitzgerald were all touting about six months ago. That's gone now.

The finances for a departure for Batt are also a lot easier. If Batt wanted to leave Michigan State right now with Guskiewicz as the president, his buyout would be $5 million. That buyout instantly gets cut in half to $2.5 million when Guskiewicz officially leaves his role at MSU.

J Batt, Kevin Guskiewic — Michigan State athletic director J Bass, left, and president Kevin M. Guskiewicz watch senior day after the game between Michigan State and Rutgers at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Thursday, March 5, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That might not become officially official for a few weeks. Guskiewicz also said in his letter that he will remain in his role in East Lansing for "the next several weeks to help support a smooth and successful transition."

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