The long awaited announcement officially came this morning as Michigan State announced it has hired Kevin Guskiewicz as the 25th president of the university. Guskiewicz will be moving into the job after almost five years as the 12th chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Guskiewicz earned a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from West Chester University in 1989 before continuing his education with a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from The University of Pittsburgh in 1992 and his Doctor of Philosophy in Sports Medicine from the University of Virginia in 1995.

Since earning his doctorate from UVA, Dr. Guskiewicz has been teaching at UNC-Chapel Hill since 1995. For the past 26 years, Guskiewicz has focused his clinical research program on sport-related concussions and their effect on balance and neuropsychological function in high school and collegiate athletes. He has also looked at the biomechanics of sport concussion and the long-term neurological effects of concussion in retired professional football players.

Prior to becoming the interim chancellor in February 2019, Guskiewicz, a Kenan Distinguished Professor of Exercise and Sport Science, rose to the role of dean of the College of Arts & Sciences in January 2016. The largest academic institution in North Carolina, the college has more than 16,000 undergraduate students and 2,500 graduate students. UNC credits his tenure as a national leader in implementing highly effective educational strategies thanks to his championing of high-structure active learning techniques.

Guskiewicz also increased opportunities for study abroad, academic internships and other experiential learning opportunities for UNC's students, while overseeing a major revamp of the General Education curriculum at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Guskiewicz's research on sport concussion has been published in over 150 journal articles and textbook chapters, helping sports medicine clinicians improve diagnosis and management of the complicated injury. His most recent work has focused on identifying biomarkers that can help determine the potential risk factors that predict symptom onset and progression in athletes that competed in contact sports of neurodegenerative disease. Guskiewicz has influenced concussion guidelines in the NCAA and NFL, while garnering over $20 million in three active research grants at UNC at present.

After obtaining his doctorate, Guskiewicz also went on to be awarded Fellowship in the American College of Sports Medicine in 2003, the National Academy of Kinesiology in 2006, and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association in 2008. Later in September 2011, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, given annually to individuals who “show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work.”

Guskiewicz was born and raised in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Currently, he resides in Chapel Hill with his wife, Amy, and their four children, Jacob, Nathan, Adam, and Tessa, but will obviously now be making the move to East Lansing, Michigan.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Join the discussion on this article in our premium forums by clicking here.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and Instagram.

For video content, including our Red Cedar Radar podcast, find us on YouTube and consider subscribing.