The Michigan State University Board of Trustees is seeing two members step down at the end of the year: Chair Dan Kelly and Trustee Dianne Byrum.
WKAR spoke with both of them to talk about their accomplishments, the difficulties the board has faced and what’s next for them.
WKAR's Sophia Saliby sat down with Byrum who’s served on the board since 2009, making her the longest serving member of the group currently.
Interview Highlights
On President Kevin Guskiewicz
His energy is about outward and engagement and elevating the university to even greater heights. So, they're different personalities, different points in time at the university, and they serve a different purpose at the university, I can say with Kevin Guskiewicz, not only am I personally impressed with him, but at how quickly he has been embraced by the MSU community. He's engaged across the state. The bus tour that he had this last fall was a phenomenal success. Students, faculty, alumni, donors love him. He's a great fit for the university.
On the board's decision to release thousands of documents related to the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal after years of delays
Let me first start by saying that I'm glad the board voted unanimously to release the privileged documents, and they're out there for anyone to read them and dissect as they would like, what went on. There was no new information, really. There was no smoking gun in those documents. As I look back and reflect on the Larry Nassar scandal, one of the things that I wish the university would have done differently was to be able to communicate more effectively earlier, answer questions, be more transparent earlier in the process. I think that would have gone a long way in addressing some of the concerns.
On leaving the Board and public service
I have been an elected official for 40 years, my entire adult life and my career, and so, as I leave my board service, I'm going to spend some time focusing on family. You know, my husband's going to have a wife, that I don't have to block off certain days of the week because I have board meetings or work sessions that I can't miss. So, we're going to be able to do a little bit more traveling, but also just my broader family, my mother, who's in assisted living right now, time is my most valuable gift that I can give her, my grandchildren and just a little bit more time maybe for myself.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: The Michigan State University Board of Trustees is seeing two members step down at the end of the year. We’ll be speaking to both of them about their accomplishments, the difficulties the board has faced and what’s next for them.
We’re here with Trustee Dianne Byrum who’s been on the board since 2009, making her the longest serving member of the group currently. Thank you for joining us.
Dianne Byrum: Thank you very much.
Saliby: Let's start with your decision to not seek reelection. Why did you decide to step down?
Byrum: Well, 16 years is a lengthy time to serve on the Board of Trustees and just realistically taking a look at it, I thought it was time to pass the baton to a new generation of leadership.
So, I made the decision a little over a year ago and publicly announced that I would not be seeking a nomination to run again that would give an open playing field to those that were interested in seeking the post.
Saliby: What are you most proud of during your time on the board? It's a long tenure, as you said, so there's a lot to talk about.
Byrum: There is a lot to talk about, and it's not any one thing. It's really the people. And this is what I reflected in my comments at the board meeting a week ago, that I have had the opportunity to interact with a fabulous group of people that make up the Michigan State University community. And you'll start right up top with our students. They're bright. They're curious, and the future is whatever they want to make it, and that's pretty exciting.
And this last year, I've served as the liaison to the faculty on behalf of the Board of Trustees. We have world class faculty, and it has been my privilege to be able to be the Board Liaison and work with them. I have a real appreciation for shared governance. Then there's the academic and support staff. That's the glue that holds the university together. And the coalition of labor unions, I sat down and had coffee with them just a few days ago to say thank you for your friendship and your partnership over these last 16 years.
We have a new president, and I do have a soft spot in my heart that I'm not going to be able to work alongside him for another eight years. I think he's phenomenal and bright future for the university ahead.
And then I would be remiss if I didn't mention not only the board staff, but the administrative staff, top notch individuals that love and care deeply about Michigan State University. So, when I reflect back, that's what I'm going to miss. We have a new president, and I do have a soft spot in my heart that I'm not going to be able to work alongside him for another eight years. I think he's phenomenal and bright future for the university ahead.
Saliby: This is another question I wanted to ask about how you would characterize your relationship with President Kevin Guskiewicz, working with him compared to the myriad of university leaders that the school has seen during your tenure, including permanent president Samuel Stanley Jr., for example?
Byrum: Well, that's an interesting question because all presidents are different. They have different personalities, and they come in and they serve at different times in the history of the university, and the needs of the university change. So when Sam Stanley came in, it was immediately the president immediately after that dark experience with the Larry Nassar scandal and situation, and so the university was really in a position where it needed healing, and Sam Stanley served that role.
Now we have with President Guskiewicz, his energy is about outward and engagement and elevating the university to even greater heights. So, they're different personalities, different points in time at the university, and they serve a different purpose at the university, I can say with Kevin Guskiewicz, not only am I personally impressed with him, but at how quickly he has been embraced by the MSU community.
He's engaged across the state. The bus tour that he had this last fall was a phenomenal success. Students, faculty, alumni, donors love him. He's a great fit for the university, and I just think he's the right person at the right time, and he's the real deal when it comes to the president of Michigan State University.
I think the future is bright, but it's been a very challenging last eight years.
Saliby: Looking back over your time on the board, what do you think was the toughest moment for you in this position?
Byrum: Well, yeah, I haven't served, particularly in the last eight years, in any time that has been easy. It's become increasingly difficult to serve on boards of education, higher ed. It's the times in society, the issues facing society, and Michigan State has had no lack of challenges. Let's put it that way. So, I can't say any one situation was more difficult than the other. They were all different. They were challenging, and they really stressed the resilience of the university.
But Michigan State University is very resilient. Like I said right up top, it has fantastic students, outstanding faculty, staff and administration and a president to lead the university. So, I think the future is bright, but it's been a very challenging last eight years.
Saliby: One of those challenges include the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. A year ago, the Board voted to release thousands of documents related to the university's response to that scandal, and that's after years of citing attorney-client privilege as a reason to not release the documents. Do you think it was a misstep to wait so long to release that to the public and to the Attorney General?
As I look back and reflect on the Larry Nassar scandal, one of the things that I wish the university would have done differently was to be able to communicate more effectively earlier, answer questions, be more transparent earlier in the process.
Byrum: Well, let me first start by saying that I'm glad the board voted unanimously to release the privileged documents, and they're out there for anyone to read them and dissect as they would like, what went on. There was no new information, really. There was no smoking gun in those documents.
As I look back and reflect on the Larry Nassar scandal, one of the things that I wish the university would have done differently was to be able to communicate more effectively earlier, answer questions, be more transparent earlier in the process. I think that would have gone a long way in addressing some of the concerns.
Saliby: Another tough point for the university is kind of some tension within the board. Earlier this year, board members censured your colleagues, Trustees Rema Vassar and Dennis Denno, following concerns about allegations of ethics violations and bullying.
Chair Dan Kelly, when I spoke to him, said each member of the Board may have had their own reasons for voting to censure. I guess, what was yours?
Byrum: I felt there were ethics violations. So, I think the Miller Chevalier report identified exactly what was going on, and because the board was not able to hold each other accountable, it bubbled up into a more public report and an investigation by Miller Chevalier. Since then, I want to commend the board for the work that they have done. They have updated the ethics and conflict of interest policy, so it spells it out very clearly. There's accountability on who's responsible and all of the procedures that will be followed should there be an impasse or an actual violation. So, I think that's very important.
The principles of governance that were signed by the current board when President Guskiewicz was hired, that lays out how the trustees are going to interact, not only with the President, but with faculty and students and among each other, that was an important step. And then the ongoing governance training that has been happening and will continue.
It's my hope it will continue on into the new board and future boards. So, I think a lot of work has been done, serious work that will move the board forward and move the university forward. And I think that's positive.
Saliby: During that time, the board also forwarded a request to Governor Gretchen Whitmer to consider removing Vassar and Denno. The governor has so far not responded to that request. Do you stand by that decision to ask Governor Gretchen Whitmer to consider this?
Byrum: As I stated earlier, the Miller Chevalier report laid out exactly what the violations were and what were the facts behind the violations, and they also recommended that we forward it to the governor for removal from office. So, I followed the recommendations of the Miller Chevalier report. It was a third-party independent report that was thorough, and I stand by that vote.
Saliby: Do you think that they should be removed? I mean, it's up to the governor, but do you have a personal opinion in what happens next?
Byrum: You're right. The decision lies with the governor, and the governor will do as she believes is appropriate. I stand by my position following the recommendation of the Miller Chevalier report. That's my role in this process. So, I don't want to speculate on what the governor might do.
Saliby: Over past year, the university and the Board has faced increasing calls from campus community members to divest from Israel as well as businesses with ties to the war in Gaza. Do you think the board has done a good job listening and responding to those concerns?
Byrum: Yes, I do. I do think the board has done a good job and under the leadership of the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee Sandy Pierce, all of the concerns that were voiced through public comment and communications to the board were taken into consideration.
We spent over the summer deliberating, looking at what peer institutions, how they handled this topic, and it was decided that it would go into a change in policy where we would have a subcommittee that would use the same criteria to evaluate requests regardless of the year or the issue.
At the end of the day, the board's responsibility is to carry out the mission of the university and to use our dollars wisely, these are endowment dollars, and to use them wisely to further the mission of the university.
It's a dynamic situation that is always changing. Society change. World issues change. That's a non-partial way to use criteria that is consistent across years and issues. And at the end of the day, the board's responsibility is to carry out the mission of the university and to use our dollars wisely, these are endowment dollars, and to use them wisely to further the mission of the university.
Saliby: Do you think the mission of the university, some would argue that includes this social conscience clause that has now been removed. I guess, how do you kind of balance, you know, these different viewpoints on this issue, where some are saying part of that mission is responding to what they see as injustice?
Byrum: Well, part of the evaluation will be the social mission question, but it will be in a larger context, so that the criteria will look at a variety of items before there is a determination on what the recommendation would be to the President and then ultimately to the Board.
Saliby: Looking forward, where do you think the biggest growth point for the university is?
Byrum: It's going to be across many areas. President Guskiewicz, in his investiture, laid out very aggressive presidential initiatives, and I think you can see through those initiatives where the growth trajectory is going to be at Michigan State University, whether it be the 30 additional full-ride scholarships with an experiential learning component to it for students across the United States or whether it's going to be the community college transfer program with the agreement signed with Lansing Community College. I was a Lansing Community College grad that transferred exactly 80 credits into Michigan State, so that I was able to transfer in with an associates degree. But that is not necessarily an easy task for students. So, I think you're you're going to see it in that.
You're going to see it in the global impact where they want to hire 20 additional researchers in the big issues of the day, whether that be space or biomedical, computational science. So, you're going to see that. The investments in the dairy teaching and research farm, and also the greenhouses, plant science building. So when you look at the presidential initiatives, I think you're going to see the path for Michigan State's growth.
And health sciences, with what's going on in Detroit with the Henry Ford partnership, as well as in Grand Rapids with our Medical Mile and the research, teaching and outreach that's going on there and across the state. So, I do think that's the path you're going to see.
And again, the university's future is bright. We have record enrollment. We are in a top 100 university in the world. We are a member of the AAU. We have a great value for students, and yet we still are accessible to students, so you get a great education, high value, high return on investment that's accessible to the common student across Michigan and across the state and nation.
Saliby: Have you shared any advice with incoming Trustee and Democrat Rebecca Bahar-Cook?
I told them that I would be available if they had questions for me, but the phone only rang one way: them to me, not me to them. I'm not going to try to be a trustee from outside the board table.
Byrum: I've spoken to both of the new trustees that are coming in. I've wished them the absolute best. I told them that I would be available if they had questions for me, but the phone only rang one way: them to me, not me to them. I'm not going to try to be a trustee from outside the board table.
And it's just this university is so big and diverse, that my advice to them would be to be curious, ask questions, approach it as one team. As President Guskiewicz says, "We're all one team." We're not adversaries. Michigan State thrives when everybody's rowing in the same direction. And that it's like I said, Michigan State's University's future is bright.
Saliby: What do you plan to do next, following not just 16 years on the board but also decades of public service, serving in the state Legislature, on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners? This is a lot of time you've spent doing all this. So, what's next?
Byrum: Well, it has been a lot of time. In fact, I was reflecting. I have been an elected official for 40 years, my entire adult life and my career, and so, as I leave my board service, I'm going to spend some time focusing on family. You know, my husband's going to have a wife, that I don't have to block off certain days of the week because I have board meetings or work sessions that I can't miss.
So, we're going to be able to do a little bit more traveling, but also just my broader family, my mother, who's in assisted living right now, time is my most valuable gift that I can give her, my grandchildren and just a little bit more time maybe for myself.
Saliby: Trustee Dianne Byrum is leaving MSU Board of Trustees at the end of the year. Thank you for joining me.
Byrum: Thank you.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
