Michigan State University picks firm for presidential search

EAST LANSING - Michigan State University has picked a search firm to help it select its next university president. 

Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, a woman- and minority-owned firm that specializes in higher education executive searches, will help the university pick the successor to Lou Anna Simon, who resigned amid the Nassar scandal.

The firm has worked on presidential searches at Florida State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Pittsburgh, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wayne State University, according to the release.

"The experience of a highly reputable firm such as Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates is invaluable to a university like MSU," university Trustee Dianne Byrum, who is a presidential search committee co-chair, said in a news release. "Their proven ability to identify and recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds is particularly helpful for organizations seeking change."

Related:MSU: No decision yet on whether finalists for president's job will be named publicly

Related:Trustee: Michigan State will consider internal and nontraditional candidates for president

The Board of Trustees selected former Michigan governor John Engler earlier this year to serve as interim president. A controversial pick, Engler has been criticized for the way spoke to and about Nassar's victims, among other issues.  

Shelly Weiss Storbeck, managing partner, and firm partners R. Thomas Fitch and Susan VanGilder will work with the university, according to a news release. 

Campus community input sessions with Storbeck/Pimentel representatives and MSU presidential search committee members are scheduled for Oct. 10 and 11, the university said. 

MSU hopes to conduct initial interviews with candidates between November and January, with final interviews from February to May. An announcement on the 21st president could come in June.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.