Teresa A. Sullivan

Sullivan was unanimously elected on January 11, 2010, and became the University's first female president on August 1, 2010.[3] However, on June 10, 2012, it was announced to the University that Sullivan would step down from her position on August 15, 2012, after serving only two years of a five-year contract. Leaders of the university’s governing board decided to remove Sullivan, "largely because of her unwillingness to consider dramatic program cuts in the face of dwindling resources and for her perceived reluctance to approach the school with the bottom-line mentality of a corporate chief executive".[7] Counterpunch presented the dispute as being more about differing views of the academic culture and future direction of the university than immediate financial concerns; whether less popular traditional-classical academic studies should be cut, with funding refocused on more profitable and business-oriented courses and programs.[8]Later news reports presented the resignation as an "ouster" organized by Helen Dragas, rector of the university's Board of Visitors; with strong suggestions of Dragas' conflicting views of the future of the university, and personal ambitions playing a role in her actions.[7] Although a formal meeting and vote of the full board was not held at the time, Sullivan was presented with the news of her loss of majority support within the board, and given the 'opportunity' to resign.

The public announcement of her resignation was communicated via an email by Dragas on behalf of the Board of Visitors. The message quoted from Sullivan's resignation letter and cited "philosophical differences" on how the University was to be run. Large-scale protest against the action, and support for Sullivan from students, faculty, alumni, as well as the national academic community, resulted, including a faculty senate demand for the removal of the Board of Visitors leaders – Rector Helen Dragas and Vice Rector Mark J. Kington[9] – and demands from the student government for an explanation for the ouster.[10] In the face of this pressure, including a statement from Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell that he would remove the entire board if they failed to resolve the issue at their June 26 meeting,[11] the board unanimously voted to reinstate Sullivan as president.[12][13]

Shortly after the 2014 publication of the later debunked story A Rape on Campus, Sullivan suspended all Greek organizations until January 9, 2015.[14] In January 2015 Sullivan acknowledged that the story was "discredited." She said, "Before the Rolling Stone story was discredited, it seemed to resonate with some people simply because it confirmed their darkest suspicions about universities—that administrations are corrupt; that today's students are reckless and irresponsible; that fraternities are hot-beds of deviant behavior."[15][16][17]

In January 2017, Sullivan announced her intention to retire effective September 30, 2018. She was succeeded by James Ryan on August 1, 2018 [18]

On September 16, 2019, Michigan State University named Sullivan as the new interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, effective October 1, 2019, serving through the end of the academic year.