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EAST LANSING — The future of two Michigan State University trustees now
rests with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Trustees voted 6-2 to censure and refer misconduct allegations against
former Chair Rema Vassar and Trustee Dennis Denno under a Michigan law
that allows the governor to remove elected officials. Vassar and Denno
were the no votes.

Trustees also voted to censure Trustee Brianna Scott, with Vassar the lone
no vote, because she wrote and released public a letter alleging
misconduct by Vassar. Scott voluntarily accepted the decision that amounts
to a formal statement of disapproval from the board.

The votes also stripped Vassar and Denno of board assignments and from any liaison positions as well as any other duties except those involved with
their elected positions.

The meeting was focused on the recommendations in an investigation
unveiled publicly Wednesday that recommended trustees refer Vassar and
Denno to Whitmer for possible removal and that members consider censuring Trustee Brianna Scott. All three are Democrats, as is Whitmer.

"I maintain that I disagree with some of the findings and recommendations
in the Miller Chevalier report," Vassar said before the vote. "I can tell
you that this report is incomplete and omits some very important
information and key voices that could have provided a fuller and different picture of the circumstances and intentions of the people involved.”

Vassar, the first Black woman to chair the board, teared up as she thanked
the Black Student Alliance and the NAACP for their continued support. She
also said she believed her racial and gender identity influenced the way
she was viewed, and hoped that perceptions of her did not influence the investigation.

She was elected in 2020 to a term that expires in 2029.

"African Americans, other people of color and women are oftentimes held to
a much higher standard or diminished and dismissed...," Vassar said.
"Well, as I've stated, I could have made some different decisions. I
certainly hope that who I am did not influence anyone involved in this investigation and report."

During Sunday night's meeting, Denno referred to the statement he released earlier Sunday defending his actions, and said he had nothing else to say.

The eight-member elected board met in a rare late-night weekend special
meeting over Zoom that was scheduled to start at 10 p.m. but began closer
to 10:30 p.m..

Before the vote to censure Scott, longtime Trustee Dianne Byrum thanked
her for coming forward and speaking out against Vassar.

"It was a very courageous act," Byrum said. "The findings have resulted in
the action today, and I know that that was at a personal cost to you and I
want to let you know that I appreciate it."

Michigan law allows the governor to remove board members for a variety of reasons, including "gross neglect of duty or for corrupt conduct in
office, or any other misfeasance or malfeasance therein...."

Vassar resigned as chair Sunday afternoon, but did not avoid having her allegations referred to the governor. The board elected Republican Dan
Kelly, the lone GOP member on the board, as chair. Democrat Kelly Tebay
was named vice-chair of the board.

The meeting was held less than a week after the months-long investigation
was released to the public and hours before the first official day of new President Kevin Guskiewicz.

The report stemmed from an investigation from the university after Scott released her seven-page letter in October publicly accusing Vassar of "a pattern of violating our codes of conduct, ethics, and conflict of
interest, including engaging in repeated undue influence, and bullying of
Board members and administrators."

The investigation by Washington, D.C.-based law firm Miller & Chevalier determined many of the claims against Vassar — including accepting free
flights and tickets from a donor for her and her daughter and violating
the code of ethics on several other occasions — were factual. It also
found instances of alleged misconduct from Denno. Investigators said Scott violated the board's code of ethics when she sent the press and public her letter alleging misconduct.

Vassar vehemently denied the allegations last fall and earlier this week
in a statement said while she hadn't read the report that there "was no
finding of any undue influence, personal benefit, or harm to the
University" in it. Her statement added that she was "pleased that the investigation concluded that the most serious charges, including those
raised by Trustee Brianna Scott, were unfounded."

However, Miller & Chevalier found numerous examples of alleged misconduct relating to Vassar. Those included Vassar accepting free flights and
tickets for her and her daughter on a donor's plane and meeting with
former Dean Sanjay Gupta to discuss a settlement in the lawsuit he filed
over his forced resignation by then-Provost Teresa Woodruff from the Eli
Broad College of Business at MSU. Woodruff was later promoted to interim president, a role that ends Monday.

Vassar, the investigation found, also violated a board policy against retaliation in respect to a witness in the investigation and met with
Attorney General Dana Nessel's office regarding the AG's investigation
into documents related to the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal the university was fighting to keep secret under attorney-client privilege, according to the report.

Denno had not commented since the report was released until issuing a
statement Sunday, hours before the meeting. In it he said he will not
resign and refuted “most of the allegations” in the report. He said he
would accept censure from the board.

He said when he joined the board after being elected in 2022 he found that
“too many trustees go-along-to-get-along and they do not ask questions,
which is greatly concerning.” He added that if trustees had asked
questions before the Nassar scandal, that crisis may not have been as bad
for MSU as it was.

He also targeted other trustees.

"I refute most of the allegations in the Miller Chevalier (MC) report.
When I asked questions in a nine-page document about possible ethical and
other violations by three other trustees, (Miller Chevalier) ignored it.
By not reviewing all allegations against all trustees, the objective was
not to investigate board misconduct, their objective was to target Dr.
Rema, and they were paid handsomely by taxpayer money and tuition
dollars.”

Scott had said earlier in the week she would accept censure. In a text
message, she called on Vassar and Denno to resign.

She said the report "corroborated much of what I alleged and more," and
said she hoped Vassar and Denno would "accept responsibility for their
actions and step down from their respective chair positions and ultimately
the Board, so as not to force the governor to use taxpayer money to remove
them ... which would only further tarnish their reputations and that of
MSU."

Whitmer calls allegations 'concerning'
Stacey LaRouche, press secretary to Whitmer, said earlier this week the governor "will continue to monitor this situation closely."

Whitmer last fall called the allegations Scott made against Vassar 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."

While she noted the board had not formally requested Vassar's removal, she
was prepared to consider any potential request.

"It's a part of the constitution, it's a part that I take very seriously. (It's) nothing that I have relished using, but if necessary, I will," she
said at the time.

Despite public pressure during the Nassar scandal, Whitmer did not take
action publicly to remove any board members and it would be a rare step to remove a board member or members from one of the state's three flagship universities. The candidates for the boards of Wayne State, the University
of Michigan and MSU are nominated by their respective parties and elected
in partisan statewide elections; the governor appoints members to the
boards of Michigan's other universities.

Vassar, Denno actions most concerning for investigators
While the report took issue with actions by all three trustees,
investigators said the most concerning allegations involved Vassar and
Denno.

"Of the allegations raised in the investigation, the ones of most concern
to Miller & Chevalier are claims that Chair Vassar and Trustee Denno
retaliated against Interviewees and claims that they undertook to launch personal attacks against Interim President Woodruff and the Faculty Senate Chair, (Jack) Lipton."

Denno and Vassar, the report said, met with students and provided them
with "confidential and inaccurate information" that violated the code of
ethics for the board and was "intended to embarrass and unsettle Interim President Woodruff in violation of Standard 8 of the Code of Ethics."

In regard to Lipton, chair of the MSU Faculty Senate, Vassar and Denno
""The investigation established that Chair Vassar and Trustee Denno "...encouraged a campaign of personal attacks against Dr. Lipton... by
student groups and the press. The evidence suggests that their actions
were primarily motivated by personal animus against Dr. Lipton, likely due
to Dr. Lipton’s call for Chair Vassar’s resignation." That action,
according to the report, also violated the code of ethics and "warrant
referral to the Governor for review and consideration pursuant to MCL
168.293."

Denno was also accused in the report of having too much involvement in the review of the mass shooting on campus on Feb. 13, 2023. He is accused of
trying to get the firm hired to analyze MSU's findings to alter its
report.

"The initial allegation stated that Chair Vassar inappropriately suggested
that SRMC revise findings in its report. However, through its
investigation, Miller & Chevalier substantiated that Trustee Denno was
actually the person attempting to exert influence over SRMC to change its findings. This conduct was a breach of Standard 8 of the Code of Ethics."

Costs for investigation rise
Three law firms are involved in the inquiry, according to legal bills
obtained by the State Journal through public records requests. MSU has
been billed nearly $600,000 from the firms, but all for work done last
year, which means the total is likely to increase.

Both Vassar and Denno were represented by outside counsel, paid for by the university, throughout the investigation.

Other board members have not commented, beyond a statement Wednesday from
Dan Kelly, board vice chair and chair of the Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance.

"The board takes our responsibility and governance seriously and is
committed to upholding our code of ethics,” Kelly said in a statement that added trustees were reviewing the report's findings.

Contact Sarah Atwood at satwood@lsj.com. Follow her on X @sarahmatwood.

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2024/03/03/msu- trustees-misconduct-vassar-denno-scott/72830765007/

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