Kevin Guskiewicz is leaving Michigan State University to become Clemson’s new president, ending a tenure in East Lansing that lasted just more than two years. His departure closes another short chapter in a university presidency that never settled into a full sense of calm.

Michigan State’s Board of Trustees had offered Guskiewicz a $1 million raise, but he is still moving on, according to people familiar with the decision. He first left North Carolina in March of 2024, and the move now sends him to Clemson after a stint in which he was relatively accessible and popular with many students.

The numbers behind the transition help explain why it matters. Michigan State has had six different acting, interim or permanent presidents since Lou Anna K. Simon resigned in January 2018, a revolving door that has kept the school in near-constant leadership change. Guskiewicz’s arrival had seemed to bring a measure of stability, especially alongside J Batt, who was running athletics.

Now that stability is being tested again. Some reported friction with the MSU Board of Trustees appears to have pushed Guskiewicz out, even after the university put a $1 million raise on the table. That departure could also shape Batt’s future in East Lansing, because his contract buyout would fall from $5 million to $2.5 million.

MSU already paid roughly $2 million to Georgia Tech when it hired Batt to replace Alan Haller, underscoring the cost of change at the top. Guskiewicz’s exit leaves Michigan State once more looking for continuity it has struggled to keep since January 2018.