He was previously at Michigan State University where he served for eight years as provost, executive vice president and professor of communicative sciences and disorders.
Since then, he has spurred a new era of growth of the campus, embarking on the expansion of the faculty by 300, development of new facilities for research, teaching, and public service, and a new emphasis on institutional globalization.
In a 2015 interview with the Washington Post, Wilcox argued that the U.S. News formula for ranking colleges was inconsistent with the mission of public higher education.
Concerns raised at the meeting included "inadequate planning for campus growth, poorly maintained facilities..., low morale," and "a feeling of disconnect between Chancellor Kim Wilcox's office and the university's 852 faculty members.
"[19] On December 16, 2016, Wilcox's hand-picked choice for UC Riverside executive vice-chancellor and provost, Paul D'Anieri, resigned rather than face a vote of no confidence by the Faculty Senate.
[20] A "cluster hiring" initiative spearheaded by Wilcox and D'Anieri had drawn sharp criticism from the Faculty Senate for its extremely poor planning and lack of transparency.
It threatens to inflict damage to academic programs on this campus that may take literally decades to undo – if it can be undone.”[22] At the November 29 town hall meeting, faculty complained that new hires had been brought in without sufficient investment in infrastructure, leading to a serious shortage of office and laboratory space and a strain on existing facilities.