Members of a key Michigan State University faculty committee are upset with the Board of Trustees’ appointment of John Engler, a former Michigan governor, as the institution’s interim president, according to a letter from the committee.
The board appointed Engler on Wednesday, one week after Lou Anna K. Simon stepped down as Michigan State’s president. She resigned in the wake of criticism of how she responded to the Larry Nassar sex-abuse scandal. Nassar, a former team doctor for USA Gymnastics and a former associate professor of osteopathic medicine at the university, was sentenced last week to 40 to 175 years in prison after being accused of sexually abusing hundreds of girls and young women. During Nassar’s sentencing hearing, several victims called for Simon’s resignation.
Within a year the university lost two chief executives — Lou Anna K. Simon, sank by the scathing, heart-rending testimony of the sports doctor’s scores of victims, and John M. Engler, whose interim presidency ended amid a backlash over his bare-knuckled tactics.
In a letter addressed to the “MSU Community,” members of the academic-governance steering committee wrote that they attended a private board meeting on Monday to give trustees input about the interim president. They expressed skepticism about appointing a former governor.
“At this meeting we expressed in no uncertain terms that appointing a former governor with no academic-leadership experience as interim president would not be the best way to heal the wounds of our community in this politically polarized climate,” read the letter.
The committee suggested that the new president should have experience in developing programs that prevent sexual harassment and abuse, according to the letter. Members also suggested that the board appoint a woman with academic-leadership experience “because her lived experience would provide needed wisdom at this juncture.” And the committee encouraged the board to take its time in appointing an interim leader, suggesting a month- or semester-long search.
The letter also states that faculty members learned about Engler’s selection through news reports: “The Board of Trustees seems to have chosen to ignore major stakeholders of the MSU community in their rush to appoint an interim president.”
The board did consult the university’s deans, who wrote a letter to trustees that detailed qualities the next leader should have, including “experience with crisis leadership, especially at a complex university like MSU.”
On Wednesday afternoon faculty members were asked to vote by email on whether to put a vote of no confidence in the board on the Faculty Senate’s agenda. If that preliminary vote passes, the no-confidence vote would be taken at the next meeting, according to the letter.
The board’s move to appoint a former politician can be seen as a way to heed state lawmakers’ concerns about leadership at MSU. Last week state lawmakers asked the university to turn over records related to the university’s investigation of the Nassar scandal. State lawmakers also called on Simon to resign earlier this month.
Engler vowed on Wednesday to make needed changes at a news conference after his appointment, an event that was interrupted by student protesters. He told reporters that he planned to meet with lawyers defending the institution in lawsuits filed by Nassar’s victims. Engler also said the university would cooperate with state and federal investigations into how it had handled the accusations.
Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz is a breaking-news reporter. Follow her on Twitter @FernandaZamudio, or email her at fzamudiosuarez@chronicle.com.
