Michigan State University Trustee Mike Balow says he was surprised to learn that President Kevin Guskiewicz would be staying at the school.
Clemson University hired Guskiewicz at the end of May for its top job. He announced Monday afternoon he was reversing his decision to leave.
Balow, the Board's lone Republican, says he found out just hours before the news became public but is happy with the way things turned out.
"All eight of our trustees wanted him to stay originally, like no one wanted him to leave, so he's back of his own accord, and you know I'm certainly going to look forward to work with him on moving university forward."
Balow says he last spoke to Guskiewicz at the Board's meeting on June 12 where he felt it seemed like the president was firm in his decision to go.
Balow says he is staying firm in his decision to not sign a new ethics and governance policy for trustees. That move led to him and Trustee Rema Vassar, who also did not sign onto the measure, being censured by other Board members in June.
Balow and Vassar have said their decision came amid concerns about limits to their free speech rights and transparency at MSU’s highest levels. The two trustees have also expressed concerns about a clause that references a "duty of loyalty." They have called for Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate the policy.
"Until I get to a point where I'm certain that it's that it's legal, I definitely won't be signing that, but obviously we'll continue to behave ethically," Balow said. "I have no problem with ethics, you know, and it's just the those components of it, you know, the infringements on free speech and the loyalty oath part of it."
Guskiewicz cited tensions between him and unnamed trustees in his letter to the campus community when he initially announced he would be leaving.
"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," Guskiewicz wrote.
Balow says the criticism lodged against him and other Board members in the past month after that have largely been an “overreaction," pointing to the fact that for the most part, trustees have largely voted unanimously on resolutions at their meetings over the course of Guskiewicz's tenure.
"I think there was a narrative out there put out there by whomever that certain trustees were just making it, you know, difficult for the president, and I think that's entirely not true, and an unfair criticism," he said.
"If we can just focus on what's actually going on at MSU, which is something I've really always pushed for, is more transparency, we're going to get to the right place."
Speaking to WKAR News in an interview Tuesday, Guskiewicz said conversations he's had with other trustees and university leaders are moving things "in a better direction."
"I do believe that we need more conversations with all eight of the trustees and members of my leadership team and myself to be sure that we can work in a constructive way together, so that's my goal, and I'm optimistic that we'll get there," he said.
Balow says he is looking forward to continuing to work with Guskiewicz and to find common ground on the ethics policy.
His term on the MSU Board goes through 2032.
