Kevin M. Guskiewicz

Kevin M. Guskiewicz is the 22nd president of Michigan State University, as well as an accomplished neuroscientist, sports medicine researcher and academic leader.

During his nearly five-year tenure as chancellor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, Guskiewicz led Innovate Carolina, a $1.2 billion research enterprise. He implemented its strategic plan and established a hub to support the university’s networks of innovators and entrepreneurs. Guskiewicz’s leadership within Innovate Carolina has made significant impacts in commercialization, new venture creation and innovation. These efforts have contributed to economic development initiatives throughout North Carolina.

Guskiewicz joined the UNC faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Exercise and Sports in 1995, where he spent 28 years moving up the ranks as a professor and chair. He was named interim chancellor in February 2019 before being appointed chancellor in December 2019. Prior to those roles, he served as dean of UNC-Chapel Hill’s largest academic institution, the College of Arts & Sciences, from 2016-19, where he made interdisciplinary research and experiential learning cornerstones of his tenure.

At UNC, Guskiewicz founded the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center and is a nationally recognized expert on sport-related concussions. His work has garnered numerous awards and has influenced concussion guidelines in the NCAA and the NFL. Among his accolades, Guskiewicz was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship in 2011 for his innovative work on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sport-related concussions. In 2013, Time magazine named him a Game Changer, one of 18 “innovators and problem-solvers that are inspiring change in America.”

Guskiewicz is also a professor with tenure in the MSU College of Education Department of Kinesiology.