05-05-2025
‘Hard choices' ahead as MSU President says ‘we must adjust our financial path'
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The president of Michigan State University says, 'We will need to make hard decisions that will impact people we care about' as the school adjusts its budget in the wake of federal changes.
Kevin Guskiewicz made the statement in a letter to the faculty and staff on Monday, the first business day following most of MSU's graduation ceremonies.
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Guskiewicz says he's proud of what he school has accomplished in his first full year as leader of the university, but he also calls it 'a challenging year, especially these last four months' as he says changes at the federal level 'undercut our ability to advance our land-grant mission and continue essential research projects that make life better.'
He says those changes, along with the rising cost of health care, are making it harder for the Big Ten university to balance its budget. After exploring short, medium, and long-term savings, Guskiewicz said, 'After careful deliberation, we have reached the difficult conclusion that we must adjust our financial path.'
He says university officials will share 'action steps and appropriate measures' to tackle the budget 'in the coming days.' It did not specify whether there will be cuts to staffing or programs.
The next few months of financial planning will be demanding and difficult for some in our community, and we will need to make hard decisions that will impact people we care about.
MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz
Guskiewicz acknowledges that his letter will 'raise questions and concerns' – but says that more information will come out 'in the weeks ahead.'
The letter to the campus community comes out less than two months after MSU announced the launch of a $4 billion fundraising campaign, of which it has already raised $1 billion. The campaign, which the school says kicked off in 2022, is expected to run through 2032.
The school sent the message out a few hours after Guskiewicz left East Lansing for the Detroit Spartan Bus Tour – a two-day trip to the Detroit area with some 50 faculty members and administrators to show how the school is working to improve life in the city and the state.
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