Chansky's Notebook: Code of Conduct

When he left Carolina as chancellor in 2024, Kevin Guskiewicz was dogged by policy confrontations with the UNC Board of Trustees.

Guskiewicz found himself in the same position after only two years at Michigan State despite strong support from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Spartans’ Hall of Fame basketball coach Tom Izzo. He visited Clemson back in the ACC and was announced as the university’s next president in May.

Suddenly, the situation became even more unusual: Guskiewicz has now decided to remain at Michigan State while athletic director J Batt (whom he hired) left for Kentucky, and even with that twist there has been no public reporting of a personal or professional rift between the two men. It was a controversial decision and topic of discussion among Michigan State observers. The timing of Batt’s move led to speculation of institutional conflict rather than a fallout with Guskiewicz.

Guskiewicz apologized for the period of uncertainty and the future of the university’s athletic director remains unclear. Clemson was to welcome its new president after every detail of his contract was agreed upon. At the very last moment, he decided to stay back with his former university despite what he called “an unsustainable situation” caused by internal conflicts among the Board of Trustees.

As he was in Chapel Hill, Guskiewicz was popular with the governor, the acclaimed basketball coach and in most circles at East Lansing, and both Whitmer and Izzo backed the slogan “We Heart Kevin G” and the popular retention campaign favoring the 60-year-old president.

In a community letter with the subject line “The Work Continues” sent Monday afternoon, Guskiewicz raised important questions about his own commitment to Sparty.

“I regret that my decision-making over the past several weeks added to that uncertainty. For that, I am sincerely sorry,” Guskiewicz wrote.

Guskiewicz’s salary is $1,030,210 and will be bumped to $1.5 million in October. According to a press release sent out by the Board of Trustees, the raise will be funded by non-university resources. His starting compensation at Clemson was reportedly $1.216 million. His first salary at UNC was $657,743.

At Guskiewicz’s last meeting before resigning at MSU, the Board of Trustees voted to implement a revised code of ethics and conduct which has since been criticized for restricting the free speech of certain Board members. The efforts to retain Guskiewicz initially failed and he announced his departure for Clemson on May 27. In his departure letter sent the same day, Guskiewicz pointed to certain trustees.

The Board has since demonstrated a commitment to implementing a more robust governance structure including those recent improvements to the code of ethics and conduct.

Carolina should have been so lucky.

Featured image via UNC-Chapel Hill/Jon Gardiner

Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro during football and basketball seasons.

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Chansky’s Notebook: Code of Conduct

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