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Michigan State president is a great position, search adviser says

Teresa Sullivan has been retained to be an advisor to MSU while they look for a president.
Credit: Courtesy / Rod Sanford, Michigan State University
Teresa Sullivan, a graduate of MSU's James Madison College, addresses guests at the college's 50th anniversary dinner Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017.

The scandals surrounding Michigan State University shouldn't scare off quality candidates looking to be its next president, a search adviser said Friday.

"MSU is one of the nation's great universities," Teresa Sullivan, who has been retained to advise the board as it hires a new president, said in a conference call. "I think that the fundamentals there are very good and for a potential president ... I think it will be a great position."

But that's not to say it won't be a hard job, Sullivan, an MSU alumnus who is president of the University of Virginia until Aug. 1, added.

"The issues MSU has had have to be addressed. This is going to be a position that requires someone who is ambitious to take on a challenge and face risk."

MSU's board hopes to have someone hired by fall 2019. Former Michigan Gov. John Engler is currently serving as the interim president.

Sullivan is being paid $1,000 per eight-hour day. The board is looking at her working one day a week, although that eight-hour time period might be split up among several days. She will be doing video conferences, phone calls and in-person conversations with the board as it works to figure out how it wants to go about finding a new president.

Sullivan is the former provost of the University of Michigan, where she worked under former U-M President Mary Sue Coleman. Sullivan was president at Virginia when Rolling Stone published an infamous article about a gang rape at a fraternity, a story that was discovered to be made up. She has been the president at the University of Virginia since 2010.

Sullivan has an undergraduate degree from MSU. After graduation, then-MSU president Clifton Wharton Jr. asked Sullivan to stay and work in his office. He also encouraged her to go after her PhD to work in higher education.

MSU is searching for a replacement for Lou Anna Simon, who resigned in January. Simon stepped down hours after a judge sentenced MSU doctor Larry Nassar to 40 to 175 years in prison as part of a plea deal on seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He is accused of molesting more than 200 girls and women over more than two decades. Nassar survivors have repeatedly wondered why Simon didn't act sooner in the case.

MSU named Bill Beekman as the temporary president when Simon stepped down.

Shortly after, MSU named Engler as interim president. He has drawn heat in recent weeks for a series of moves, including a private meeting with a Nassar survivor in which she claims Engler offered her $250,000 to settle her lawsuit.

The lawsuits were settled earlier this month for $500 million.

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj

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