Michigan State University's vice president for fundraising responded Wednesday to a State News report on employees' issues with her leadership style, sending a lengthy note of appreciation to her staff that credited it with the department's successes.
Vice President for University Advancement Kim Tobin was the subject of a State News report published yesterday. Drawing on interviews with employees and public records of consultants' cultural assessments of her unit, the story detailed staffers' perceptions that Tobin rewards loyalty, punishes dissent and siloes lower-ranking personnel off from an insular circle of advisers.
"I recognize that seeing our organization and individual colleagues discussed publicly can feel unsettling," Tobin wrote in the email to Advancement staff, which was obtained by The State News. "Stories like these don’t just land on one person; they ripple through teams, relationships, and the shared work we care deeply about. I want you to know that I understand the weight of that."
She continued, "Leadership comes with difficult choices, and I take full responsibility for the decisions made under my direction. Those choices have always been guided by a sincere commitment to strengthen this organization, serve the mission of Michigan State University, and support the people who make that mission possible — you."
The revelations about Tobin's unit and her response to them come as it navigates its loftiest test yet: Advancement is in the midst of a record-setting $4 billion capital campaign.
All the while, many staffers say Tobin's leadership style has alienated them. A consultant she hired to assess morale once noted that employees "do not feel safe at work," and a recent assessment of Tobin’s leadership style described it as "authoritarian or fear based." In her three years at MSU, Tobin has also been the subject of six complaints submitted to the university’s misconduct hotline.
The State News story detailed employees' frustrations that a former colleague was allegedly retaliated against for reporting sexual misconduct, while a former associate of Tobin's, now working at MSU, was given what they see as lenient treatment after a donor was reportedly upset by her alleged drunken misconduct. Staffers also gripe that some of Tobin's closest advisers live out of state and fly in on MSU's dime, and that her sister was hired to a prominent role in the department.
While Tobin's email did not discuss specific revelations in the State News story, it did broadly address it.
"While the article highlights one perspective, it does not capture the transformation, progress, and care our team has poured into building something extraordinary," she said. "Over the last three and a half years, you have transformed our advancement team into one of the most ambitious, high-performing, and mission-driven advancement organizations in the country. That is not just my story—it is our story. And it deserves to be recognized in its entirety."
The email continued by listing recent achievements and improvements of the department while crediting the entire staff for them.
