Leadership

Kenneth McFarlane

Ken McFarlane brings a strong combination of MSU familiarity and fresh perspective to his role, backed by a proven record of delivering complex projects on time, within budget, and with careful attention to risk and compliance. Since joining MSU in April, he has quickly earned the trust of colleagues across campus, demonstrating a steady leadership style rooted in data‑driven decision‑making and operational excellence.

Before stepping into his current leadership position, Ken served as MSU’s Director of Design and Construction, providing strategic direction and overseeing a project portfolio exceeding $2 billion. His work supported major university initiatives, including the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, MSU Library Special Collections renovation, Campbell Hall, and the Henry Ford Health + MSU Health Sciences Research Center in Detroit.

Ken previously spent more than a decade as an executive leader at the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, guiding 500 staff and an annual budget of more than $100 million while strengthening accountability and organizational effectiveness.

A licensed professional engineer in Michigan and Nevada, Ken holds a Master of Public Administration and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He also brings 15 years of industry experience on major national construction projects.

Christine Carter

Christine has been with MSU for nearly 30 years, most of that time spent in central MSU administration. She has extensive institutional knowledge and has provided leadership to several campus-wide initiatives that support a culture of high-performance, innovation and inclusion. Since joining Infrastructure Planning and Facilities as their Chief of Staff in November of 2020, she leads strategic planning efforts, monitors organizational performance, and drives continuous improvement. As part of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) she works to understand the climate and pulse of IPF, a workforce of about 1200 employees and serves as a sounding board for the assistant vice president. She directly oversees several business areas including Finance (data analytics, capital project accounting, Planon): safety; communications, and material, stores & logistics. 

A graduate of Michigan State University, Christine received her bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and is a recipient of the Jack Breslin Distinguished Staff Award and the Robert F. Banks award for Institutional Leadership.

Marchan D. Darby

Marchan D. Darby serves as the Director of Real Estate Operations at Michigan State University, a role she assumed in November 2022. With over two decades of experience in real estate and public sector property management, Marchan brings a wealth of expertise and leadership to the university’s real estate portfolio.

Prior to joining MSU, Marchan held several key roles within the State of Michigan’s Department of Technology, Management & Budget, including property analyst, leasing manager, and division director for the Real Estate Division. Her work in these roles was marked by a commitment to operational excellence, stakeholder collaboration, and innovative problem-solving. She has been a licensed realtor in Michigan since 2001, demonstrating her long-standing dedication to the real estate profession.

Born and raised in Detroit, Marchan is a proud graduate of Cass Technical High School, where she first developed her passion for business and leadership. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwood University and went on to complete a master’s degree in management from Walsh College.

Sherri Jett

Sherri Jett carries a variety of responsibilities as the lead for MSU’s Power & Water (Utilities) department, as well as Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Real Estate and Capital Planning (RECP). 

As a business manager for the power and water plants, Jett oversees the utilities' infrastructure. From the business side, she steers efforts in developing capital and operating expense budgets for the fiscal year, and from the operating side, she manages a team to keep power, steam and water supplied across campus. 

As the AVP of RECP, Jett provides visibility and focus to the university's approach to real estate operations as well as campus, capital renewal, and capital project planning. 

Jett holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in chemical engineering. She attended MSU for her freshman and sophomore year before transferring to the University of Virginia to finish her degree. Jett has more than 30 years of domestic and international energy industry experience, including 17 years of project development, engineering, procurement, and construction experience.

Adam Lawver

Adam Lawver provides leadership for creating a high-performing, transparent, and customer-focused operational team spanning the departments of Custodial Services, Landscape Services, Transportation Services, Surplus Store & Recycling Center, Structural Services, Electrical Services, Mechanical Services, Project Services, Facility Service Center, and Building Performance Services.

Lawver’s goals include helping employees and campus customers advance their knowledge and transform their lives through MSU’s mission, and to create a work climate that promotes and recognizes diversity, life-long learning and the achievement of results. He believes that people should experience an aesthetically pleasing, safe and sustainable campus environment.

Lawver has served as a national Baldrige examiner, is a State of Michigan licensed landscape architect, a certified educational facilities professional, and has held multiple roles at MSU beginning as a student employee. His most recent position was the director of Campus Services. Lawver has an MBA in Integrative Management, Master of Science in Construction Management, and a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, all from MSU.

Michelle Rutkowski

Michelle Rutkowski is the Director of Employee Services and senior HR officer for IPF, overseeing the Human Resources and Learning & Development teams.  Her teams support employees and supervisors through the employment lifestyle touch points: classification, compensation, hiring, onboarding, performance management, training, professional development, and employee engagement.  The HR team also helps employees navigate compliance issues such as FMLA, ADA, Workers' Compensation, RVSM, ADP and ISE, as well as labor relations and IPF employee metrics. Rutkowski is the Executive Sponsor of the Workforce Engagement Committee and represents IPF in union grievances, arbitrations and special conferences. 

Michelle began her career as a hotel front desk clerk and left as the Senior Director of Guest and Associate Services, overseeing front desk, housekeeping, maintenance and human resources functions. After leaving the hotel industry, Michelle worked as a senior HR specialist for Ingham County where she developed and facilitated the county’s first supervisor training program. Michelle joined MSU’s Office of Employee Relations in September of 2014 and transferred to IPF HR in 2015. In 2019, Michelle co-chaired the MSU onboarding and offboarding initiative, which created the university’s new employee welcome program as well as a comprehensive website dedicated to supporting new employees and their supervisors. In 2024, she oversaw the implementation two other firsts for IPF: an attendance policy and a unit-wide salary range. Michelle has a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Central Michigan University.