Eastern Michigan University's president-elect Brendan Kelly, an EMU alum, has a message for students: someday, they, too, might lead the university.
"You are going to end up running this university," Kelly said during a December 2025 press conference. "I know that because I was a student here, and now I'm going to end up running this university."
Kelly, 50, earned two degrees from EMU. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public relations in 1998 and completed a master’s in communication in 2000. He was named president-elect by the EMU Board of Regents in December 2025 and is working with current EMU President James Smith through a transitional period before he takes his post in April.
Most recently, Kelly served as president of the Arkansas State University System. Previously, he served as president of the University of West Georgia, interim president of the University of South Carolina in 2019 and chancellor of the University of South Carolina Upstate from 2017-20.
Before that, Kelly worked at the University of West Florida, beginning as a professor in the school of communication arts, and later working as vice president of university advancement. Earlier in his career, he worked at EMU as assistant director of forensics and lecturer in the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts.
"He comes with perfect pedigree; he is experienced as a university president," Smith said of Kelly to The Eastern Echo. "I think we have teed it up perfectly."
Contract and transition
Kelly's presidential salary was set at $520,000, showed an amendment to his contract. Currently, Smith's salary is $512,107, said Melissa Thrasher, executive director of media relations at EMU. The EMU presidential salary is on par with other public universities in the Mid-American Conference, such as Western Michigan University, which reported a president salary of $525,000 in 2025, Central Michigan University, which reported $500,000, Ohio University, which reported $612,000 in 2024, and Northern Illinois University, which reported $515,000.00 in 2025.
Kelly will assume a salaried employment consultant position at EMU from March 1 to March 31, before taking on his role as president April 1.
"Throughout the Term, the Executive shall devote Executive’s full professional time and attention to the business and affairs of the University and shall not engage in any other business activities, whether or not such business activity is pursued for gain, profit, or other pecuniary advantage, without the prior written consent of the Chair of the Board," stipulated Kelly's contract.
On May 3, Smith's presidential term will end and he will move into a faculty role, his contract said. He will spend some time in the summer aiding special projects and the transition, before going on administrative leave beginning July 1, 2026. He will rejoin EMU as a faculty member in the fall 2027 semester. His faculty salary will be calculated at that time, and will be 10% higher than the highest paid full professor of his department, per the contract.
EMU will pay up to $30,000 in moving expenses, including parking, incurred by Smith as he moves out of University House.
Choosing EMU
Kelly described his upcoming position as EMU president as a homecoming, one that would bring him and his wife, Tressa Kelly, an EMU alumna, back to the campus where they met. Kelly began serving as ASU president in September 2024. He said leaving ASU prematurely wasn’t his plan.
“I never, ever, ever, ever, ever anticipated leaving my current post in such a brief time. Never in a million years,” he said. “When I applied for this job, I made it really clear: I am not applying for any jobs right now. I am applying for this job. This institution is unlike any in the country for us.”
Kelly gave the ASU System Board of Trustees notice of his departure, ASU Board Chairperson Steve Eddington said in a statement.
“We appreciate Dr. Kelly’s service and respect his decision to return to his alma mater and home state,” Eddington said in the statement. “The Board of Trustees will outline a plan to prepare for a smooth transition for future leadership. We have a strong team of campus and system leaders to carry on the work of service to our students in the interim.”
President-elect Brendan Kelly speaking to the press after the Board of Regents meeting on Dec. 10, 2025 in Welch Hall.
University priorities
Kelly’s top priority for EMU is to focus on enrollment and retention, an ongoing challenge area for the university and other institutions. Nationally, universities face a demographic cliff, as states, including Michigan, report declining birth rates, bringing down the high school graduate population, reported the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
In the fall 2025 semester, year-over-year freshmen enrollment decreased by 18.8% at EMU compared to fall 2024, Katie Condon, vice president of enrollment management, said in a previous interview with The Eastern Echo. By the 2023-2024 school year, EMU had seen a 42% decrease in enrollment since the 2009-2010 school year, showed data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
Kelly said he plans to address the financial concerns of declining enrollment by creating marketplace demand around the institution. He also plans to foster what he described as a culture of continuous improvement.
Another priority, Kelly said, is to align the campus community around the university goals and methods of achieving them.
"Perhaps the most important is to get all of the people aligned around what we need to be doing, one, and how we are going to do it," Kelly said. "What is the brand that comes along with Eastern Michigan and makes it distinctive from other institutions of higher education? We've been able to achieve that type of alignment at other institutions, and I'm really looking forward to being able to do that here."
Student focus
Kelly said a key area of focus for him will be to win the daily trust of students. He said issues like parking and dining, which have been top concerns for students, are not unique to EMU, and student satisfaction is one of the most important components of a successful university. Kelly said he plans to spend time with students so he can get to know them and find out the why behind some of their concerns.
“If it is a critical priority for students that attend this university, then it is a critical priority for me,” Kelly said.
Kelly said he plans to face problem areas head-on and address concerns students might have.
"There is always going to be things in an institution as complex and large as this one that are not going to be working. So, let's talk about those first," Kelly said. "I like to talk about ... where we're weak much more than just highlighting the places where we're strong."
It is important for students to understand how the university operates and be part of the solution to their concerns, Kelly said.
Federal changes
Last year, in 2025, colleges and universities across the country felt the impact of federal government decisions, from changes in financial aid to diversity, equity and inclusion rollbacks. Kelly said he expects 2026 to be as challenging for higher education as 2025 was.
Kelly likened policy change for universities to regulatory changes in other industries and prescribed a response rooted in proactivity and building relationships.
"We can influence conversations in Washington to a degree. That's why we have legislative delegations, that's why we have to be present in D.C., and have relationships that allow us to be part of that conversation, so that those legislative delegations can use us as a resource as new policy and rules come out," Kelly said. "We want to be part of the conversation, but we can't control all of that. So from my vantage point, we focus in on the fact that the marketplace has changed, and if new policy comes out, that changes the marketplace."
Kelly said radical policy changes seen in higher education require anticipation of future changes and focus on priority areas.
"New regulation comes out, it changes the way in which you're going to function, do business and provide services. We're going to proactively try to anticipate those, react when it is appropriate, but most importantly, we're going to focus on the things that are most important and will not change. And the things that will not change are our responsibility to students in the role that we're going to play in their lives," he said.
