Michigan State University's board will hold a special meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday to hire a new president.

The new president will replace current acting President Satish Udpa, who succeeded interim President John Engler. Engler, a former Michigan governor, was forced out of office for his treatment of Larry Nassar survivors. Engler was replacing Lou Anna Simon, who was forced out amid the Nassar scandal.

Simon is facing criminal charges of lying to police in their investigation of Nassar's sexual abuse of hundreds of young women in his role as a sports medicine doctor. He's serving what effectively is a life term.

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Whoever is named will face a steep challenge and must communicate effectively, said Matt Friedman, co-founder of metro Detroit-based Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications and an expert in communications.

He suggests the new president make student health and safety the top priority and then use public relations and communications to support that mission.

"Words will ring very hollow unless they are supported with action," he told the Free Press.

Were Friedman advising the new president, he'd also encourage the person to quickly address the issues at MSU and not wait for reporters to ask questions about it.

The hire is an opportunity for MSU to move past the last several years of crisis, Friedman said.

"One of the things we've talked about previously is are we closer to the end or closer to the beginning. This is a chance to be closer to the end."

The name of the next president is not known to the public, nor is the name of any finalist, or even any applicant.

The first mention of the president's name will be as the board votes to approve the candidate's hiring.

The board and its initial screening committee, made up of faculty, staff and board members, have said since the beginning of the search the only way to get quality candidates is to keep every name secret.

"These high-caliber candidates will not remain in the pool for consideration if their identities are made public," the committee said in a February update. "All members of the search committee and the Board of Trustees have signed confidentiality statements. The commitment to confidentiality is crucial to attracting and hiring the best possible person to be the next president of MSU."

The closed search has rankled many on campus, including an advocacy group named Reclaim MSU, which issued the following open letter to presidential candidates earlier this year.

"We recognize that most recent searches for university presidents are conducted confidentially. However, MSU is not like most universities. On our campus, hundreds of student athletes and patients experienced decades of sexual abuse because university officials ignored them," the group said.

"Our former president has been charged with lying under oath regarding the Nassar investigation. And our interim president has claimed privately and publicly under oath that survivors are lying. At the same time, he lies about the reasons that MSU closed the healing assistance fund set up to help support survivors of Nassar’s abuse and their families. We are advocating for an open search and will continue to do so. However, we urge you to engage publicly with the entire MSU community. We need you to challenge MSU’s secrecy and lack of accountability. Now, before you are hired."

Michigan law exempts university president searches from open meeting act and public records laws.

In keeping the search closed, MSU mirrors a trend across much of higher education. Oakland University was a notable exception in its last search for a president. It held candidate town halls with finalists that were open to anyone.

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj