Central Michigan University taps Augusta University administrator as president

• Neil MacKinnon, most recently a university administrator in Georgia will be the next Central Michigan University president 
• He begins Nov. 1 
• CMU is in the process of revamping enrollment strategies and trying to expand its College of Medicine 

The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees on Thursday selected Neil MacKinnon, a pharmacy professor and former provost at Augusta University in Georgia, as its new president. 

MacKinnon succeeds Bob Davies, who announced earlier this year his intention to resign.

“You have my full commitment that my team and I will truly be student-centric in our decision-making,” MacKinnon said to students at a news conference. “A basic question that I will always ask anytime we make a decision is ‘Is this in the best interest in our students?’”

MacKinnon said Thursday he plans to implement the university’s strategic plan, which was formally approved September 2023, and includes goals of improving student performance and institutional sustainability.

MacKinnon’s salary was not made public on Thursday, but university documents indicate Davies salary was $450,000 a year as of 2022.

Related:

• More students graduating in four years from Michigan public universities
• Central Michigan University departing president in line for $1.2M in payments
• Central Michigan University president will step down in December

Augusta University is a public research university with about 10,500 students as of fall 2023, an increase from 9,565 in 2020. U.S. News & World Report ranked it 296th among 439 national universities; CMU was ranked 259th. 

MacKinnon previously was the dean of the University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.

MacKinnon comes to CMU at a critical time. The nearly 14,500-student university has struggled with enrollment but is reporting its largest first-year class since 2019 and up 9.4% from fall 2023.

In years past, CMU leaders blamed enrollment troubles on increased competitiveness for a declining number of in-state high school graduates. A university official in 2022 blamed “a general sense of complacency” as a factor as to why the university struggled with lowering enrollment for several years. 

MacKinnon said CMU’s enrollment is a “solid foundation,” but said he hopes to use what he has learned at other universities to help with its enrollment as well.  

CMU is also planning to move its College of Medicine to Saginaw by 2028. CMU already has facilities in Saginaw but this change would allow all medical students to study in Saginaw rather than splitting them between Mt. Pleasant and Saginaw. 

MacKinnon has a doctoral degree in philosophy of pharmacy health care administration, a master’s degree in hospital pharmacy and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, according to a CMU news release.

His August University biography lists him as an expert on public health, rural health and opioid treatment. He also served as a professor at the University of Arizona and its director of the Center for Rural Health.

MacKinnon said he is “very supportive” of moving the program and that increasing the size of the medical class “will help rural, underserved Michigan.”

Board Chair Todd Regis said the board has hired MacKinnon as an adviser for the medical school through the end of October. 

“Dr. MacKinnon stood out for his ability to articulate a bold vision, his deep understanding of the complexities of higher ed and the challenges facing colleges and universities across the continent,” Regis said at a news conference following the vote. 

Bridge Michigan has requested a copy of the contract between MacKinnon and the university but has not yet received it. 

MacKinnon emerged from a field of more than 80 candidates, said Regis.