SEPTEMBER 5,
 2019

MSU WELCOMES 
NEW PRESI
DENT 

On 
Aug. 
1, 
Michigan 
State 
University 
welcomed 

Samuel 
L. 
Stanley 
Jr., 
M.D., 
as 
its 
21st 
president. 
The 

MSU 
Board 
of 
Trustees 
unanimously 
selected 
Stanley 

at 
a 
special 
meeting 
May 
28 
after 
a 
national 
search.

“
Dr. 
Stanley 
is 
an 
empowering, 
compassionate 
and 

thoughtful 
leader, 
who 
will 
work 
tirelessly 
alongside 

our 
students, 
faculty, 
staff, 
alumni, 
trustees 
and 

broader 
Spartan 
community 
to 
meet 
the 
challenges 

we 
face 
together 
and 
build 
our 
future,”
 
says 
Dianne 

Byrum, 
chairperson 
of 
the 
MSU 
Board 
of 
Trustees. 

Last 
August, 
the 
trustees 
appointed 
an 
18-member 

search 
committee, 
co-chaired 
by 
Byrum 
and 

Melanie 
Foster, 
MSU 
trustee. 
As 
part 
of 
a 
national 

search, 
the 
committee 
solicited 
input 
through 
22 

campuswide 
input 
sessions 
and 
an 
online 

submission 
form 
for 
community 
members 
to 
share 

their 
ideas 
on 
the 
characteristics 
they 
desired 
for 

Michigan 
State’
s 
next 
president. 
The 
committee 

used 
those 
comments 
as 
the 
basis 
for 
the 

Presidential 
Prospectus 
and 
the 
criteria 
by 
which 
 

the 
committee 
evaluated 
each 
candidate.

“
I 
am 
proud 
to 
j
oin 
the 
Spartan 
community,”
 
says 

Stanley. 
“
MSU 
is 
a 
university 
with 
the 
scope 
and 
scale 

that 
few 
others 
possess. 
We 
provide 
extraordinary 

opportunities 
for 
learning, 
partnering 
and 

discovering 
solutions 
to 
prepare 
the 
next 
generation 

of 
citizens, 
scientists 
and 
leaders 
and 
to 
make 
a 
 

better 
Michigan 
and 
world.

“
I 
know 
the 
Spartan 
community 
has 
been 
profoundly 

troubled 
by 
the 
events 
of 
the 
past 
years 
that 
have 

shaken 
confidence 
in 
the 
institution. 
We 
will 
meet 

these 
challenges 
together, 
and 
we 
will 
build 
on 
the 

important 
work 
that 
has 
already 
been 
done 
to 
create 

a 
campus 
culture 
of 
diversity, 
inclusion, 
equity, 

accountability 
and 
safety 
that 
supports 
all 
of 
our 

endeavors. 
I 
am 
so 
excited 
about 
MSU’
s 
legacy 
as 
the 

pioneer 
land-grant 
university, 
its 
remarkable 
progress 

over 
this 
decade 
and 
its 
amazing 
potential 
for 
the 

future. 
I 
believe 
our 
best 
days 
are 
ahead, 
and 
I 

appreciate 
the 
chance 
to 
be 
a 
part 
of 
this 

extraordinary 
j
ourney.”

Stanley 
previously 
served 
as 
the 
president 
of 
Stony 

Brook 
University 
from 
July 
1, 
2009 
to 
July 
31, 
2019 
and 

has 
nearly 
15 
years 
of 
higher 
education 
leadership 

experience. 
After 
earning 
his 
medical 
degree 
from 

Harvard 
Medical 
School, 
he 
completed 
his 
resident-

physician 
training 
at 
Massachusetts 
General 
Hospital. 

He 
then 
went 
to 
Washington 
University 
in 
St. 
Louis 
for 

a 
fellowship 
in 
infectious 
diseases, 
eventually 

becoming 
a 
professor 
in 
the 
Departments 
of 

Medicine 
and 
Molecular 
Microbiology 
and 
one 
of 
the 

nation’
s 
highest 
recipients 
of 
NIH 
funding. 
He 
was 

appointed 
vice 
chancellor 
for 
research 
at 
Washington 

University 
in 
2006, 
serving 
in 
that 
position 
until 
he 
was 

appointed 
president 
at 
Stony 
Brook.

“
Dr. 
Samuel 
Stanley 
is 
an 
outstanding 
physician 
and 

an 
accomplished 
leader 
in 
higher 
education. 
He 
is 

deeply 
committed 
to 
access 
and 
equity, 
and 
he 
has 

leveraged 
the 
premier 
Educational 
Opportunity 

Program 
to 
provide 
thousands 
of 
qualified 
students 

the 
chance 
to 
pursue 
their 
educational 
goals,”
 
says 

Robert 
Jones, 
chancellor 
at 
the 
University 
of 
Illinois. 

“
It 
was 
a 
pleasure 
working 
with 
him 
during 
my 
four 

years 
in 
the 
SUNY 
system, 
and 
I 
look 
forward 
to 

collaborating 
again 
as 
he 
j
oins 
Michigan 
State 

University 
and 
the 
Big 
Ten.”

“
Dr. 
Stanley’
s 
entire 
career, 
as 
both 
a 
researcher 
and 

leader, 
embodies 
a 
commitment 
to 
all 
aspects 
of 

academic 
excellence 
and 
demonstrates 
his 
assurance 

that 
students 
are 
at 
the 
center 
of 
his 
mission,”
 
says 

Foster. 
“We 
set 
out 
to 
find 
a 
proven 
leader 
with 
the 

energy, 
integrity 
and 
compassion 
needed 
to 
lead 
our 

university, 
and 
we 
found 
one.”

Stanley 
is 
a 
member 
of 
the 
board 
of 
directors 
of 
the 

Association 
of 
American 
Universities 
and 
the 

Association 
of 
Public 
and 
Land-Grant 
Universities 
and 

recently 
completed 
terms 
on 
the 
NCAA 
Board 
of 

Directors 
and 
NCAA 
Board 
of 
Governors. 
He 
served 

for 
seven 
years 
as 
chair 
of 
the 
National 
Science 

Advisory 
Board 
for 
Biosecurity, 
which 
advises 
the 

United 
States 
government 
on 
issues 
related 
to 
the 

communication, 
dissemination 
and 
performance 
of 

sensitive 
biological 
research.

In 
addition 
to 
his 
extensive 
background 
in 
science 

and 
research, 
Stanley 
championed 
student 

achievement, 
access 
to 
higher 
education 
and 

advocating 
for 
more 
state 
and 
national 
funding 
for 

financial 
aid 
at 
Stony 
Brook. 
He 
also 
has 
been 
an 

international 
advocate 
for 
gender 
equity 
and 
ending 

sexual 
violence 
in 
his 
role 
as 
one 
of 
two 
U.S. 
university 

Impact 
Champions 
for 
the 
HeForShe 
UN 
Global 

Solidarity 
Movement 
for 
Gender 
Equality.

Stanley 
is 
married 
to 
Ellen 
Li, 
M.D., 
Ph.D., 
a 

distinguished 
biomedical 
researcher, 
and 
they 
 

have 
four 
adult 
children. 

Learn 
more 
at 
president.msu.edu. 
e

MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D.

8/23/19 3:45 PM