Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D.

Following a national search, Kevin Guskiewicz was named Clemson University’s next president on May 27, 2026. A neuroscientist, educator and higher education leader, Guskiewicz previously served as President at Michigan State University and chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He will become Clemson’s 16^th president.

At Michigan State University, Guskiewicz advanced a student-focused vision centered on access, workforce readiness and public impact. Early in his tenure, he conducted a 52-stop listening and learning tour across the university’s colleges and administrative units to help define a shared institutional direction and strengthen campus culture. He later introduced a series of initiatives designed to expand opportunity for students, including enhanced support for experiential learning, broader pathways for community college transfers and increased access for Native American and Lansing-area students.

Guskiewicz also emphasized the university’s role as an economic and talent driver for the state and beyond. He launched the Green and White Council, bringing together civic, business and government leaders to help align academic programs with workforce needs, and created the semiannual Spartan Bus Tour to connect university leadership more directly with communities across Michigan. In 2025, he led the launch of Michigan State’s most ambitious comprehensive campaign to date, the $4 billion “Uncommon Will, Far Better World” campaign supporting scholarships, research growth and campus transformation.

An internationally recognized researcher, Guskiewicz received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2011 for his pioneering work on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of sport-related concussions. His research has influenced collegiate and professional football safety guidelines, and he has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers while maintaining an active research portfolio. In 2013, Time magazine named him a Game Changer, one of 18 “innovators and problem-solvers that are inspiring change in America.” He also has represented Michigan State through leadership roles in national higher education, research and civic organizations.

Guskiewicz arrived at Michigan State from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which he led as chancellor from 2019-24. As chancellor, he led the implementation of the university’s new strategic plan, presided over the most successful fundraising campaign to date and launched a statewide initiative that partnered with communities to address the state’s most challenging issues. Earlier, he served as dean of the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, as a department chair and as a Kenan Distinguished Professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. He was executive director of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at UNC and the founding director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center.  

A 2020 National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame inductee, Guskiewicz earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from West Chester University, a master’s in exercise physiology/athletic training from the University of Pittsburgh and a doctorate in sports medicine from the University of Virginia.

Born and raised in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, he and his wife Amy have four children: Jacob, Nathan, Adam and Tessa.