Cox steps down as department chair after 9 years

Release Date: Jun 13, 2022
Tags:RIO Department Chair research

Charles "Lee" Cox in his office. — Cox said the most rewarding part of being chair was seeing people succeed. "Whether it's a faculty member being promoted, staff member being rewarded or a student graduating; those are the things that get you into this position," he said. "You oversee everything so you live vicariously through other people's success." Credit: Harley Seeley

Being the department chair was never meant to be a permanent position for Charles “Lee” Cox.

After nine years serving in that role at Michigan State University Department of Physiology, Cox accept a new position last month as MSU’s Research Integrity Officer (RIO).

“I had anticipated stepping down as chair after my tenth year anyways,” said Cox adding that a typical term of a department chair is five years. “I think two terms is enough. Chairs need to turn over. You burn out. You need to get some fresh blood in there. You need fresh ideas and new energy.”

Cox will split his time between the RIO and department chair duties until an interim chair is appointed. He replaced Jim Pivarnik, who retired from the RIO position after 15 years, and will report directly to President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. and Doug Gage, the vice president for Research and Innovation.

“I’m happy for Lee,” said Aron Sousa, dean of MSU’s College of Human Medicine. “I think he’s excited by the prospect of some new challenges and also some opportunity to get back in the lab. The position is a better balance for him of administrative and university work as well as the chance to do science.”

For Cox, being able to have more time to do his own research was an aspect that drew him to the position

“The one thing that got sacrificed all the time was my research program,” he said. “That was the easiest thing that I could put to the back burner. I could’ve reduced my teaching, but I feel like you need to lead by example. It’s hard to be pushing people to increase their research programs when mine was dwindling.”

A native of Santa Rosa, California, Cox admits that he never envisioned a future in the science field.

“To be very honest, my goal was to be an electrician or plumber,” said Cox who was the first in his family to go to college after a high school counselor encouraged him to pursue it.

Cox enrolled at the University of California, Riverside where he received two undergraduate degrees in biology and psychology. He would go on to complete his master’s degree in psychology and his Ph.D. in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience at UC Riverside, too.

In 2013, Cox came to MSU from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he was promoted to full professor two years earlier.

“I was at a stage in my career at Illinois where I wanted to know how I could have a bigger impact,” Cox said. “I can remember telling my wife about this opportunity at MSU and she just laughed. And I’m like well if this ever happened, it’ll be an opportunity to have that bigger impact.”

During the interview selection process for the department chair at MSU, Cox said he resonated with the faculty who told him they felt their voices weren’t being heard.

Charles "Lee" Cox in his lab. — Cox said he hopes to have more time now to focus on his research study. "I enjoy doing administration work but I'm ok if my research program doesn't take off," said Cox whose research has an interest in the cellular mechanisms underlying behavioral plasticity. "Do I still have the research in me? We'll find out." Credit: Harley Seeley

“The number one thing that I heard from almost all the faculty is that they felt they didn’t have a role in the decision making and the representation,” Cox said. “I remember that was the frustration I was having in Illinois, so I understood that. The way I look at being a chair is that you’re basically a conduit for the faculty. You represent the administration to the faculty, but you also represent the faculty to the administration.”

Michelle Mazei-Robison, associate chair of MSU's Department of Physiology said Cox’s leadership led to tremendous growth in the department’s research and educational missions which included the recruitment of talented research and teaching-focused faculty and the expansion of the undergraduate programs, including the integration of the neuroscience major.

“[Cox] strived to increased communication and transparency within the department,” Mazei-Robison said. “This was especially critical during the pandemic, where the weekly Zoom ‘Coffee Chats’ provided a necessary outlet for discussion, updates, and social interaction.”

Looking ahead, Cox said the one piece of advice he has for the new chair is to listen to the people around him or her.

“Don’t feel like you need to do everything yourself,” Cox said. “Do the best you can. The one thing about these positions is that there’s no true handbook. It’s trying to figure out when and where you can delegate to utilized the expertise of your colleagues.”

By: Tyler Lee