When Eastern Michigan University President Brendan Kelly entered office May 1, 2026, he inherited the responsibility of implementing day-to-day change at an institution that declined in enrollment by over 40% during the administration of his predecessor.
In the first 30 days of his term, Kelly announced several changes to the parking system at EMU, which has long been the target of student complaints. On April 13, he announced that Rhonda Longworth and Leigh Greden, who respectively served as provost and chief of staff under former President James Smith, would be resigning.
Kelly sat down with The Eastern Echo for an interview April 29, 2026 to discuss his plans for the future of the university, and his thoughts on a range of topics that included enrollment, tuition pricing and the federal education landscape.
"Generally speaking, when you come into presidential administrations, there's going to be change in leadership," Kelly said, when asked about the reason for Longworth's resignation. "Especially after an administration that lasted as long as President Smith's ... As we go through the coming months, there'll be other transitions, both in how we're organized and who's in service to the university, because the goals that are set for this institution are set by the Board of Regents."
Throughout the interview, Kelly emphasized what he called the end-user experience as the core of his vision for the university. He said that he believed tuition pricing should be worked out in response to student needs, and said that his administration was advocating to secure financial aid and university funding in discussions with lawmakers.
When asked if budget cuts for the university were being considered, Kelly acknowledged the financial challenges posed by declining enrollment and said that the university must ultimately focus on delivering the end-product of a good student experience.
"If we are focused on that and we can get that right, then the size and scope of the organization is a secondary thing," Kelly said.
During a segment about AI policies, Kelly said that he would not implement an absolutist policy one way or another, but added that a continuous conversation should be had in the university to determine what the needed guardrails are as the technology evolves.
Kelly reinforced his holistic approach to university governance during the interview, and said that, broadly speaking, the major goals he had for his administration were increased integration of potential employers in the education process, growth of the institution and the fostering of EMU's brand image as a university that people look to.
"Whatever will make an Eastern Michigan student's broadly defined experience richer ... we're absolutely going to explore that idea," Kelly said in closing, when acknowledging the possibility of implementing a campus bar.
