Here’s a List of Who Has Left Michigan State Since the Nassar Scandal Erupted

On Tuesday, Michigan State University’s associate vice president for alumni relations joined a growing list of administrators and others who have left the institution as the Larry Nassar scandal continues to boil.

Scott Westerman, who has led the university’s alumni unit since 2010, resigned as he was being investigated by Michigan State’s institutional-equity office, which handles reports of sexual misconduct as well as discrimination and harassment. The Detroit Free Press first reported his resignation.

A university spokeswoman confirmed to the newspaper that a complaint had been filed against Westerman on February 9 and that he was under investigation, but she didn’t provide further information.

Westerman said in a statement that the inquiry “covers a brief period near the start of my tenure, is not a police matter, and naturally, I am fully cooperating with investigators.” He said that he had been “planning to return to Florida for some time” and that the investigation “was not a factor in that decision.” He also wrote on his personal website that “these past eight years plus have been among the most challenging and rewarding of my career.”

While the departure doesn’t appear to be directly related to Nassar, the former Michigan State sports doctor who sexually abused hundreds of girls and young women, Westerman’s is the latest head to roll at the institution in recent months.

In addition to Westerman, at least three administrators, a lawyer, a coach, and a physician who were either connected to the Nassar case or accused of misconduct — or both — have left since September 2016, when The Indianapolis Star first published its investigation into Nassar’s abuse. Here’s a list of them.

Lou Anna K. Simon

The longtime president of Michigan State for months resisted calls to resign, even as criticism mounted over her handling of the fallout related to Nassar. Many saw her public statements as cold and unsympathetic toward his victims. Simon finally caved in to the pressure on January 24, the day Nassar was sentenced in a county court to 40 to 175 years in prison. “As tragedies are politicized, blame is inevitable,” she wrote in her resignation letter. “As president, it is only natural that I am the focus of this anger.”

Mark Hollis

Hollis, who had been athletic director for a decade, announced two days after Simon resigned that he was retiring. His exit, on January 26, came just after the NCAA began an investigation into the university’s handling of the Nassar case and shortly before an ESPN report alleging a culture in the athletic department of covering up sexual-assault complaints. “I am not running away from anything, I am running toward something,” Hollis wrote in his resignation letter. “Comfort, compassion, and understanding for the survivors and our community; togetherness, time and love for my family.”

William Strampel

The dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine was Nassar’s boss for much of the sports doctor’s 19-year career at Michigan State. Strampel resigned as dean on December 14 but said he would remain on the college’s faculty. As questions continued to swirl about his potential role in the Nassar scandal, university officials announced on February 9 that they would begin the process of stripping him of tenure and firing him. On March 27, Strampel was charged with one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct using force or coercion and two other misdemeanor counts — allegations that suggested that a culture of misbehavior may have run deeper than Nassar. Strampel also faces a felony charge of misconduct by a public official.

Robert Noto

Noto was Michigan State’s top lawyer for 23 years. He came under fire in January after an article in The New York Times said his office’s internal investigation into the university’s handling of the Nassar allegations wasn’t meant to shed light on the situation but instead to build a better legal defense against the barrage of lawsuits facing Michigan State. Brian Mosallam, a trustee, then called for Noto to step down. He announced his retirement on February 20.

Kathie Klages

The nearly 30-year head coach of women’s gymnastics left her post on February 14, 2017, a day after being suspended. Multiple women have alleged that they told Klages about Nassar’s abusive treatment and that she discouraged them from reporting it. In the fall of 2016, after Nassar was fired, she passionately defended him during a staff meeting and asked her athletes to sign a card for Nassar. The university’s police department opened an investigation into Klages last year for possible obstruction of justice, but no charges have been filed.

Brooke Lemmen

Lemmen, a colleague of Nassar’s, resigned on January 18, 2017. The Free Press reported that she had removed “several boxes of confidential treatment records” from the sports-medicine clinic at Nassar’s request; her lawyer has said that she returned the files without giving them to Nassar. She told a university Title IX investigator in 2014 that she believed his treatment methods were medically appropriate. Lemmen also knew that USA Gymnastics was investigating Nassar in 2015 and didn’t tell Michigan State.

Correction (4/18/2018, 3:05 p.m.): William Strampel was not arrested on charges of child pornography, as originally reported in this article. He has been charged with one count of fourth-degree sexual conduct along with other charges, which are stated correctly above.

Sarah Brown writes about a range of higher-education topics, including sexual assault, race on campus, and Greek life. Follow her on Twitter @Brown_e_Points, or email her at sarah.brown@chronicle.com.