Throughout my presidency, I have often spoken about the importance of a “One Team” philosophy — the belief that progress is strongest when we row together toward common goals, learn from one another and remain committed to moving this great university forward together. I continue to believe deeply in that approach and in the extraordinary potential of Michigan State University.
At the same time, effective university leadership requires a shared commitment to collaboration, trust and a forward-looking vision. While many across this university community have embraced that spirit, it has become increasingly clear that there are differing perspectives within the Board of Trustees regarding how best to move MSU forward. 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. What is perhaps most troubling is the actions of some to abuse their access to privileged and confidential information to mispresent facts, manipulate situations and selectively use and leak that information to promote personal agendas.
