EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Michigan State University is just one step closer to having a new president.

The university’s Board of Trustees announced the search committee responsible for selecting MSU’s next president on Tuesday.

Trustee Dennis Denno is the chairperson for the committee, and he said that the committee “is reflective of the diverse voiced and perspectives” of those who care about the university.

“Our commitment from the onset has been to ensure an inclusive process that leads us to a top candidate for the university’s 22nd president,” Denno said.

The committee includes the following individuals:

  • Kate Birdsall, associate professor and director of the Cube in the College of Arts and Letters, president of the Union of Non-Tenure Track Faculty
  • Sid Bogan, chief of security and safety, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department
  • Kendra Cheruvelil, dean and professor, Lyman Briggs College, and co-director of the Data-Intensive Landscape Limnology Laboratory
  • Jim Cotter, MSU alum and former director of admissions
  • Prabu David, vice provost for faculty and academic staff development, interim associate provost for teaching and learning innovation
  • Dennis Denno, MSU trustee
  • Lupe Dominguez, office assistant, College of Music, and executive board member, Chicano/Latino Faculty, Staff, Specialist and Graduate Student Association
  • Luis Alonzo Garcia, director and principal investigator of Migrant Student Services and senior specialist
  • Emily Hoyumpa, president, Associated Students of Michigan State University
  • Tom Izzo, men’s basketball head coach
  • Jerlando Jackson, dean and MSU Foundation Professor of Education, College of Education
  • Hannah Jeffery, president, Council of Graduate Students
  • Dan Kelly, MSU trustee
  • Karen Kelly-Blake, chairperson of the Faculty Senate and University Steering Committee, associate professor, College of Human Medicine, and associate director of academic programming, Center for Bioethics and Social Justice
  • Leo Kempel, dean and Dennis P. Nyquist Endowed Professor of Electromagnetics, College of Engineering
  • Renee Knake Jefferson, MSU trustee
  • Christopher Long, dean, College of Arts and Letters and the Honors College, MSU Foundation Professor
  • Cynthia Neeley, State representative, 70th House District
  • Dave Porteous, attorney, McCurdy, Wotila and Porteous, PC, and chairperson emeritus of the MSU Board of Trustees
  • Brianna Scott, MSU trustee
  • Wenona Singel, associate professor and director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center, College of Law
  • Leigh Small, dean and professor, College of Nursing
  • Steve St. Andre, chairperson and founder, Shift Digital, and MSU alum
  • Shawn Starr, Stock handler and president, AFSCME Local 1585
  • Marty Vanderploeg, nonexecutive chairperson, Workiva Inc., MSU alum
  • Lorraine Weatherspoon, professor and associate chair and director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Sean Welsh, executive vice president/regional president, PNC Bank, and MSU alum
  • Melissa Woo, executive vice president for administration and chief information officer
  • Haitau Yang, incoming treasurer, Council of Racial and Ethnic Students and Council of Progressive Students; student adviser, Hmong American Student Association; and senior adviser, Asian Pacific American Student Organization

The committee’s vice chair, Trustee Brianna Scott, thanked the committee members.

“Each of these individuals brings unique experiences and leadership that will be essential for the next step in our search process,” Scott said.

The announcement comes almost exactly seven months after former President Samuel L. Stanley announced his resignation from MSU.

Stanley’s last day as president was Nov. 4, 2022.

Since then, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Teresa K. Woodruff has stepped into the interim president role.

So, now that the committee has been announced, what’s next?

According to the university, committee members will review feedback from campus open forums and listening sessions and use that information to screen and interview applicants.

The committee is ultimately responsible for narrowing down candidates that will be considered for the presidential position by the MSU Board of Trustees.