The MSU Board of Trustees has hired Theresa Sullivan, an MSU graduate and currently the University of Virginia president, to work alongside the MSU Board of Trustees as an advisor regarding the search for the next MSU president. Sources have indicated she will not be a candidate for the permanent MSU position.
MSU board trustee Dianne Byrum, speaking on behalf of the board, indicated that Sullivan will be paid $1,000 per eight-hour work day. It is anticipated that Sullivan will work the equivalent of one day a week to aid this search. However, until the end of July when Sullivan retires from University of Virginia she will be working at MSU for free.
Sullivan is the former provost of the University of Michigan where she worked under former U of M President Mary Sue Coleman. Since 2010, Sullivan has served as president at the University of Virginia, including the time period when Rolling Stone published an infamous article about a gang rape at a fraternity, a story that was later discovered to be made up. Â
The APA has already engaged MSU and expressed a clear desire that the process to select a new MSU President be inclusive, ensuring all campus voices and perspective be heard firsthand before any final decisions are made. The APA will continue to update the membership as more information is known.