Crain's: You are the new president who comes in following two interim presidents. Tell us a little bit about why you took this job and a little bit about your background.

Stanley: I'm a biomedical researcher originally by training, so an M.D., actually, by my education. For the past 10 years, I've been president of Stony Brook University in New York ... an AAU (Association of American Universities) school, one of the best 62 research institutions in the country, just like Michigan State. While I was there, I had the chance to really work with an amazing team and do some amazing things in terms of student success, sponsored research and economy development.

What attracted me to MSU was obviously the incredible scope and impact of the university. With more than 50,000 students, 10,000-plus faculty and staff, this is an institution that has an impact not just on individuals — the students who graduate from it — but on their families, on communities, on the state of Michigan and on the world. ... This is really an attractive place to be and a place, again, where one can have impact. And that really matters to me very much as a university president.

Crain's: How did you go from the medical field into higher-education leadership?

Stanley: I got a very large grant from the federal government — about a $30 million grant for biodefense and emerging infectious diseases (that's my area of specialty). And I realized while running that I actually became more interested in other people's research than I was in my own. That led to a transition in my career to more administration. I became the vice chancellor of research at Washington University in St. Louis, and I did that job for about 4 1/2 years before Stony Brook University became looking for a new president. I never dreamed I would become a university president someday. ... But it's been an incredibly rewarding career.

Crain's: Where do you intend to take Michigan State? In the (post-Nassar) healing process, what are the steps you need to take to bring back some sense of normalcy to this campus?

Stanley: It's very important that I begin by listening and learning. ... When I do start, the first thing I'm going to do is meeting with so many constituents on campus, and that includes survivors as well. ... I want to hear their thoughts and I want to know how they assess progress has been done in this area. ... Ultimately, we're not going to forget what happened with Nassar or any other issues that have taken place with sexual violence on campus. ... But we're going to use that to drive a culture on campus — a culture of acceptance, a culture of safety, a culture where people respect each other. And that's my goal, to help Michigan State arrive at that destination.

Crain's: Michigan State is a billion-dollar organization, it's one of the state's largest employers — certainly in the Lansing area — and then with the University Research Corridor with Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, there's a pretty good partnership in research and development. Do you have some thoughts about where you want to take that? And is that constrained to East Lansing? Or do you think the university could have a mission further beyond the footprint of campus?

Stanley: I think the mission ... will go beyond Lansing. ... I look forward to working with M. Roy Wilson, the president of Wayne State University who's a former medical school classmate of mine. He and I have known each other since our days at Harvard Medical School together. And then Mark Schlissel, of course, is someone I've gotten to know through AAU. I look forward to working with both of them to really put the power of Michigan State University behind Michigan's three major state university behind pushing economic development for the state.