Michigan State Board chair allegations represent 'serious breach of conduct,' Gov. Whitmer says

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday said allegations of misconduct by the Michigan State University Board of Trustees chair, if accurate, would be a "serious breach of conduct" and could warrant a removal.

The allegations are the latest turn in a series of spats involving the MSU board, after another trustee issued a letter calling for the chair's removal over concerns of bullying trustees and university officials, and meddling in high-profile university investigations.

Whitmer, speaking at an event in Grand Rapids, called the allegations outlined in the letter deeply concerning.

"I'm taking it very seriously," Whitmer said during a news media scrum. "I think the allegations, if accurate, amount to a serious breach of conduct in what we expect of our board members and ... the oath that they took."

The State News, part of the USA TODAY Network, first reported on Trustee Brianna Scott penning a letter addressed to other board members calling for the resignation of Rema Vassar, who chairs the board. In the letter, Scott said Vassar acted outside of her authority to singlehandedly settle university disputes, traveled at the expense of major university donors without submitting financial disclosures, and upheld an ongoing investigation into the leak of Brenda Tracy's name, a university vendor who accused now-fired Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker of sexually harassing her.

Michigan State has had turmoil among elected board members in recent years — Nancy Schlichting resigned from the board in October 2019 after serving less than a year, saying she no longer wished to serve on a board unwilling to conduct an independent review of the actions in the past several years, including the Larry Nassar scandal.

Vassar was also accused of contacting the attorney general's office without permission regarding documents related to the Nassar case.

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Gov. Whitmer: 'The failure of leadership is undeniable'

In the letter, Scott called on Vassar to resign and for the remaining board members to remove her as chair of the board and refer her to the governor for removal as a trustee.

While the state constitution mandates board members at Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and, Wayne State University be elected, state law does permit the governor to remove an elected board member "for gross neglect of duty or for corrupt conduct in office, or any other misfeasance."

A voicemail left with the phone number listed for Vassar on MSU's website was not immediately returned.

In the state, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University are unique in electing board members — at the state's 10 other public university systems, board members are appointed by the governor. Whitmer panned the current system of electing board members at the three universities.

"I think that the failure of leadership at Michigan State University is undeniable," Whitmer said. "The way that we create the board of regents, or governors or trustees doesn't make a whole lot of sense anymore, because I don't think it works very well."

Years of turmoil in the Michigan State board

Last November, Pat O'Keefe resigned from the board over its handling of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination at public institutions. O'Keefe took issue with how former MSU President Samuel Stanley and now-Interim President Teresa Woodruff handled the forced resignation of business school dean Sanjay Gupta, over claims Gupta did not follow mandatory reporting rules regarding sexual misconduct complaints.

Stanley resigned last October, after saying he had lost confidence in the MSU Board of Trustees.

Whitmer said ensuring the state's public universities have adequate leadership is "my job as governor." While she noted the board hasn't formally requested Vassar's removal, Whitmer remains prepared to consider any potential request.

Contact Arpan Lobo: [email protected]. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.