The President of Michigan State University, Dr. Samuel Stanley Jr. resigned Thursday after a month-long dispute with the Board of Trustees over Title IX issues. Several trustees had tried to oust Stanley last month, initially asking him to step down but stay on for a year while they search for his successor.
Dr. Stanley announced his resignation in a YouTube video, noting that he had given the board the 90-day notice required by contract.
“I, as the Michigan State University Faculty Senate and the associated students of Michigan State University, have lost confidence in the actions of the current Board of Trustees and cannot in good conscience continue to serve this board as constituted ,” said Dr. Stanley. in the video, referring to student and faculty no-confidence votes on the board this week.
Competitive controversies
The twin controversies of Title IX are at the heart of the case that eventually pushed Dr. Stanley out.
Trustees have affirmed that Dr. Stanley failed to properly certify Title IX compliance reports as required by state law; he argued that it was the board members who made mistakes.
Last month, in the early days of the shutdown, Dr. Stanley said at a virtual meeting of the Faculty Senate that he had “faithfully complied with the Michigan State certification process for the past two years and reviewed all Title IX reports that were required. He laid the blame on trustees, adding that “some of our board members may not have actually met their share of the state’s requirement in 2021,” and noted that an internal audit of the certification process was underway.
Michigan state trustees are elected, not appointed. Made up of five Democrats and three Republicans, the board has given little indication of a united front as the effort to oust Dr. Stanley has played. However, several individual administrators have previously spoken to news organizations or appeared at a virtual Faculty Senate meeting, and their statements initially showed a clear divide, with some members resisting the move to fire Dr. Stanley.
A review of the Title IX certification process conducted by MSU’s Office of Audit, Risk and Compliance and released Sept. 30 provided the first glimpse of the board as a cohesive entity. A board statement released along with the review noted concerns about Title IX compliance reports certified in 2021 and added that two outside law firms have been retained “to investigate the 2021 Title IX certification process, to provide guidance to the Board in reviewing Title IX reports, identify deficiencies in the process, and make recommendations to improve the process.” While those efforts are ongoing, according to the statement, the board revealed few details about overall progress.
But according to details that emerged from MSU’s review, there were a number of failures in the Title IX compliance certification process. One issue was the lack of “an overarching process workflow policy to ensure consistency over time.” Similarly, the review found that communications about the certification process were “inconsistent, incomplete and unclear.” It also revealed that an unnamed trustee provided verbal rather than written confirmation during the certification process, violating established protocols.
Ultimately, the review offered various recommendations, highlighting the need for clearly documented processes, as well as more training for administrators – and perhaps the creation of an online portal where they could better access and review certification documents.
The resignation of Dr. Stanley comes amid another issue that has shaken the campus: the resignation of a dean under pressure from Provost Teresa Woodruff, who has defended her decision vigorously in the face of board questions.
Trustees have since opened an investigation into the firing of Sanjay Gupta, the former dean of Michigan State’s business school who was asked to leave in August after he allegedly failed to report an instance of an employee touching a student at inappropriate way.
The faculty senate and campus administrators have argued that firing a dean falls outside the board’s authority, accusing trustees of overreaching. But Michigan State administrators broke their silence on the matter Tuesday, with a statement to faculty and staff arguing that the investigation into Gupta’s resignation falls under their purview.
“The board expects the review to provide clarity regarding the facts that led to Dr. Gupta, including whether University procedures are conducted in compliance with federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations and institutional policies. Ensuring that the University’s processes and procedures are rigorously followed will allow our entire community to have confidence that every stage of the process – from the initial complaint to the conclusion of an investigation and the University’s response – has been handled appropriately and will be so in the future. the statement sent by email.
While the board has faced opposition from the Faculty Senate and campus leaders to the Gupta investigation, 23 business school professors have voiced their support for the ongoing investigation.
The presidential mix
The upcoming departure of Dr. Stanley makes him the third president to leave Michigan State since 2018 over issues related to Title IX issues. Dr. Stanley joined MSU in 2019 after two of his predecessors were impeached in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, in which the former sports doctor was convicted of sexually assaulting multiple athletes over several years.
The state of Michigan, which was found liable for a number of institutional failures related to Nassar’s crimes, settled with victims for $500 million and has been under the Title IX spotlight ever since.
The Nassar case ousted then-president Lou Anna K. Simon, who left in 2018 with a $2.4 million settlement and narrowly avoided criminal charges for allegedly lying to investigators about the case. Interim President John Engler, a former Republican governor of Michigan, left abruptly in 2019 after accusing Nassar’s victims of enjoying “the limelight.”
MSU then tapped administrator Satish Udpa to serve as interim until Dr. Stanley stepped into this role.
reaction
Since the news broke Thursday, both the board and MSU officials have remained silent, with trustees releasing only a brief statement: “The MSU Board of Trustees appreciates President Stanley’s service over the past three years. last. President Stanley arrived at a difficult time and provided stable leadership to lead us forward while the entire world was experiencing severe disruption and uncertainty. The Board of Trustees will work collaboratively with President Stanley during this transition and more details will be shared with the campus community as information becomes available.”
An MSU spokesman did not respond to a request for information about the process for appointing an interim president and other details about Dr. Stanley.
Despite having a clause in his contract that allows him to join the Michigan State faculty after his resignation, Dr. Stanley will not enter the ranks of professors. local media reported.
As news of the resignation spread, state and local elected officials weighed in.
“I spoke with President Stanley and thanked him for his hard work to lead [Michigan State] through some of her toughest challenges, including leading the school through the aftermath of the Larry Nassar scandal and through the darkest days of the pandemic,” Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin tweeted, calling Dr. Stanley “a steadfast advocate for MSU students. “
It also charged the Board of Trustees with selecting a capable interim president.
“The onus now falls on the board to show real leadership and select an interim president with the experience and management skills to make this transition as smooth as possible. The student body, faculty, alumni and state of Michigan deserve nothing less,” Slotkin tweeted.
Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, also attended.
“The university is an important part of our economy, an important part of our state… They’re going to need to have great leadership. I thought they had excellent leadership. And now, obviously, there’s going to be a change there, but I’m going to be watching closely,” Whitmer said at a campaign event in East Lansing on Thursday, as reported by the nonprofit news site. Michigan Advance.
Overseas, Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, issued a statement questioning the board’s actions to remove Dr. Stanley: ”President Stanley is a distinguished and accomplished higher education leader who was just beginning to make his mark at Michigan State University. Instances of the politicization of public university boards and the tendency to micromanage by some boards are toxic to the good governance of public research universities. Michigan State University is a wonderful institution and deserves excellent leadership. President Stanley’s decision to step down under these circumstances is a sad day for the state of Michigan and an embarrassment for the state of Michigan.
The departure of Dr. Stanley will say two presidents have left major Michigan institutions this year, both ousted by governing boards. While Dr. Stanley is resigning under pressure, his former counterpart at the University of Michigan, Dr. Mark Schlissel, was fired by the Board of Regents – a separate elected entity – after it was discovered that he had had an affair with a subordinate.
Dr. Stanley will remain in office until January, according to the timeline set for his resignation. The Board of Trustees has not outlined a process for finding an interim president. The next meeting of the board is scheduled for October 28.
