YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) — Eastern Michigan University's new president, Brendan Kelly, is tackling declining enrollment by listening to student concerns about costs, campus food and parking.
Kelly, 50, is returning to his alma mater as the 24th president of EMU. He officially stepped into the role on April 1, 2026.
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Dr. Kelly earned both his bachelor’s degree in public relations and his master’s degree in communication from EMU before completing his Ph.D. in political communication and rhetoric at Wayne State University.
Declining enrollment is the top issue for the new president.
In the fall of 2023, total student enrollment was 13,324, including 11,129 undergraduate and 2,195 graduate students.
By the fall of 2024, total enrollment dropped to 12,631.
In the fall of 2025, the university recorded 12,146 total students, consisting of 10,034 undergraduates and 2,112 graduates.
"Well, enrollment’s been trending down, and that’s not true for higher education nationally. It is true for Eastern Michigan," Kelly said.
Kelly said his sights are set on the cost of education and the value of the experience to combat the dwindling student population.
"We’re going to make sure that we make this education as affordable and rich as possible," Kelly said.
Kelly added the solution for recruitment should come from listening to the concerns of students themselves. Freshman Brooke Collison said she wants more dining options.
"The food is terrible (laughs), so I would like more options," Collison said.
"Just so you know, you can tell them their president thinks that, too. And we’re going to change that service model. We’re having meetings over the next couple of weeks, so that we can get to meeting their needs and expectations," Kelly said.
Junior Elija Card said he would like to see changes in the promotion of student organizations, while freshman Kallie Wegner said she feels there is not much to do on campus.
"I don’t think they have very much to do here on campus," Wegner said.
"I want to have transformative experiences for students, extraordinary experiences for students," Kelly said.
Senior Ethan Delaney said the biggest change he wants to see is a decrease in parking prices.
"On my second day as president, we started changing the parking regulations, and every single one of those changes came from students giving me feedback and saying, let me just explain the very simple things that we need,’" Kelly said.
That feedback led to opening the Ford reserved lot to students, with a promise of more parking moving forward. However, students also expressed concerns about the cost of tuition and housing.
"I don’t know if he can control the prices, but maybe lower the prices a little bit," early college student Gia Davis said.
"Price is what you pay and value is what you get. Our job is to make certain that we ensure value is far greater than price, but I haven't been part of the pricing piece. Now I am," Kelly said.
Alongside leadership changes, a new eight-foot-tall, 750-pound Block E was recently installed on campus for photo opportunities as Kelly spreads the word that he is here to make changes.
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