Kelly Tebay Returns to MSU

January 9, 2019

Kelly Tebay, a Criminal Justice alumni, has returned to MSU and is hoping to bring change with her as she starts her role as an incoming Board of Trustee Member.

Kelly Tebay graduated from the James Madison College at Michigan State University in 2008, having studied International Relations and Muslim Studies. A few short years later, Kelly graduated from the School of Criminal Justice’s Law Enforcement Intelligence & Analysis (LEIA) Masters Degree Program intending to use her degree to work in Homeland Security or Emergency Management at the Federal level.

Instead of working for the Federal Government, Kelly stumbled into the political field and has been there for over ten years. She started her career in politics working with former Governor Jennifer Granholm where she was involved in event planning and political fundraising. Since then, Kelly has left state politics and now works with United Way where she manages a five-million dollar portfolio and partners with agencies in south-east Michigan to address issues local communities may be facing. Kelly says that the experience and knowledge she gained in the LEIA program prepared to simultaneously see the big picture of United Way’s goal, and pay attention to all of the minute details in her work with local agencies – a skill critical to her current role.

Kelly did not anticipate her return to MSU to be as a Board of Trustee member, but the Nassar Crisis compelled her to run. Kelly felt uneasy with the way that the crisis was being handled and was upset with the response. She believed her university could do more to help heal and prevent such a tragedy from happening again. Now that Kelly is coming in as a Board member, she is hoping to bring change with her. The main areas Kelly would like to address during her time as a Board Member include addressing sexual assault, the rising cost of tuition, improving the general culture at MSU, and improving transparency.

As an incoming Board Member at this time in MSU’s history, Kelly has been reflecting on the knowledge and experience she gained during her time at MSU and in her career. Kelly is confident that she has the ability to effectively serve as a Board of Trustee member in part due to the experience she gained in the LEIA program. Kelly is eager to show that she loves MSU, is ready to serve the MSU community, and wants MSU to be a place that future Spartans love even more than she did…and she says she really did love her time at MSU.