The dean of Kansas University’s largest academic unit will leave this summer to become provost at Michigan State University.

Kim Wilcox, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since July 2002, said today he has accepted an offer from MSU, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1975.

“I have been interested in leadership positions in higher education for several years now,” Wilcox said. “I know for now this is a great set of opportunities.”

Wilcox, a native of Michigan, said the appointment is subject to formal approval by MSU’s board of trustees, which is expected in June.

Lynne Goldstein, who chaired the MSU search committee, said Wilcox was a good fit for the university.

“I think he just had a number of different kinds of experiences and skills that were a really good fit for us,” said Goldstein, chair of MSU’s anthropology department. “We were impressed with his scholarship, the fact he’d been a department chair and a dean, and his experiences with the (Kansas) Board of Regents. It was a combination of skills and experiences that meshed with our university.”

David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor, said KU will appoint an interim dean within two weeks and launch a national search for the position. Wilcox said no date has been set for his departure.

Michigan State has an enrollment of nearly 45,000, about 16,000 larger than KU.

Wilcox has served on the KU’s speech-language-hearing faculty from 1984 to 1988, when he was named interim director of academic affairs for the Kansas Board of Regents. He was named executive director of the regents a year later and served in that role before returning to KU.