Why MSU board finally approved the release of contentious Nassar documents

Michigan State University Board of Trustees took a long-awaited step Friday by unanimously approving the release of thousands of withheld university documents linked to the sexual abuse scandal involving sexual predator Larry Nassar.

The documents, which MSU previously wouldn't release because of attorney-client privilege, will be prepared and released to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel; it's not clear if or when they might become public.

Board Chair Rema Vassar called it a "historic day" after at least five years of state government officials seeking access to the documents.

"We are sorry for all the hurt and pain that survivors have experienced and continue to experience," Vassar said during an online meeting. "Today, we take a bold step toward a bright, green future of truth. ... Survivors, you have won this day."

The withheld documents became a symbol to some who viewed the university's refusal to turn over the documents as a lack of transparency following the scandal involving Nassar, who's now imprisoned after sexually assaulting young women for decades while an MSU doctor. As details emerged before and after his conviction, critics viewed MSU as attempting to cover up how he hurt women for so long undetected.

The issue initially wasn't placed on the agenda until about an hour before the 8 a.m. meeting started. Afterward, Vassar said she, along with Vice Chair Dan Kelly and trustees Dennis Denno and Sandy Pierce, offered support during the board's Thursday executive session to bring the issue to a vote during the board's last meeting of the year — enough votes to get it on the agenda. Trustees Kelly Tebay and Renee Knake Jefferson signed on early Friday morning, Vassar added.

All of the board members supported putting the issue on the agenda, MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant said.

"It is my hope that 2024 will bring a path of healing for the sister survivors," Trustee Dianne Byrum said at the end of the meeting.

During the nearly 4.5-hour meeting, after being prompted by board secretary and chief of staff Stefan Fletcher, Kelly read the resolution that outlined the history of the documents and how they have been kept from the public despite calls for their release to the attorney general. The resolution also called for the university's administration to develop a "trauma-informed plan" to provide support and resources to anyone affected by the documents' release.

"Whereas in April 2023, the Attorney General made a new request that the university release to the Attorney General in full all documents not previously released in response to the warrant," said Kelly, reading the resolution. "The university desires to cooperate and provide finality in the matter."

The number of withheld documents has been widely reported as 6,000, and Knake Jefferson reported after a 2020 review that there were nearly 10,000. But MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant said Friday that 4,237 privileged documents have been withheld in their entirety.

The documents will not be immediately released to Nessel, Guerrant said.

"There are FERPA, HIPAA and other considerations that need to be addressed before the documents are sent to the AG," said Guerrant via email, referring to family education and health privacy rights. "I don’t have a firm timeline to share, but it is a priority for the university to appropriately prepare the documents and send to the AG’s office."

Nessel's office didn't respond to questions about when her office might release the documents for the public to review.

The documents emerged in 2018 at the height of the scandal when the board asked then-Attorney General Bill Schuette to conduct an investigation. Nassar was sentenced that same year to decades of imprisonment for the assault of hundreds of women and girls, mostly female athletes, and possessing child pornography. A judge had ruled the documents need not be disclosed because of attorney-client privilege.

Other documents MSU provided at the time resulted in charges against three MSU officials — which were eventually dismissed against former university President Lou Anna Simon but led to jail time for William Strampel, the former dean of the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Kathie Klages, former MSU gymnastics coach. The state Court of Appeals vacated Klages' conviction in 2021.

Board members agreed to release the withheld documents years after Nassar victims and their allies lobbied for the release to promote their healing. Attorney General Dana Nessel closed an investigation into MSU two years ago because of the university's refusal to release the documents. Last week, MSU hired a new president who is scheduled to start in March.

"With the hiring of President-elect Kevin Guskiewicz and the vote to release the documents, I hope the board can lead the community in a productive and positive way in the new year," Tebay said at the end of the meeting.

None of the board members discussed the issue before voting, and only a few of them addressed the issue when trustees made comments before the meeting adjourned.

A new hope

Reached by phone after the meeting, Vassar and Denno said there had been board discussions for some time to bring closure on the withheld documents, the release of which was a campaign issue for many recently elected trustees. MSU's recent settlement of the last two lawsuits against the university related to the Nassar case also created momentum to move forward with a vote to waive privilege and release the documents, Denno said.

"Hopefully, this is going to bring healing to the survivors and MSU," said Denno, who sought but failed to get a vote on releasing the university documents during the board's Oct. 27 meeting.

Vassar shared the hope for healing, adding that she also wished releasing the documents would start to rebuild trust in the board and university, and signal "transparency, accountability, justice and truth."

But releasing them was also about paving the way for the new president, she added. During the search process, many people said the release of the documents needed to be in MSU's past, she said. Guskiewicz should be able to start leading in March without the issue in the background, the board chair said.

"All of those things converged at this moment, and we are ending the year with light and a new president on the horizon," Vassar said. "I feel hopeful."

Both Nessel, a Democrat, and her Republican predecessor issued statements that welcomed the action.

“The students, the MSU community at-large and, most importantly, the victims of Larry Nassar have long been owed this transparency. I am encouraged to see the MSU Board of Trustees finally make the right decision on a long-promised, and long-delayed, measure of transparency," Nessel said Friday.

“We appreciate the opportunity to review these documents and will reopen and expedite our investigation as soon as they are received.”

Schuette similarly praised the move as overdue but welcome.

“It’s been a long wait, one challenging for the Sister Survivors, but the MSU Board of Trustees has finally released the important documents I asked for in 2018 concerning the horrific behavior of Larry Nassar," Schuette said. "I and my team, led by Angie Povilaitis, put Larry Nassar behind bars and the release of these files is an important step forward towards an open and transparent review of the actions within MSU.”

Nassar victims respond

Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to accuse Nassar of sexual assault, said the release of the documents to the attorney general is important but doesn't go far enough.

"The AG has very limited authority to investigate whether chargeable criminal offenses are present," Denhollander said in a statement on X. "This is important, but only a very small piece of the breakdowns that created repeated sexual assault crisis at MSU. What MSU needs is a comprehensive assessment which focuses on the culture, policies and structure of MSU related to sexual assault."

At the start of the meeting when members of the public could address the board, five Nasser victims and family members spoke, including Spartan alumna Amanda Cormier, who said she appreciated that the board was finally open to releasing the documents.

"I truly believe that the culture of MSU will not heal until the documents are released, and we learn more about the culture of MSU that allow this to happen to so many people," Cormier said.

Valerie von Frank, a mother of a victim, said years have passed to come to this moment. She thanked Vassar for her work to bring the issue to a vote and Denno for being the first board member to bring a motion before the board, which failed earlier this year.

"I'll just ask the rest of you: Do you stand behind your promises you made?" von Frank said. "I hope that you do the right thing (today)."

Survivor Melissa Hudecz called for a moment of silence.

"This," Hudecz said, "is a very significant moment."

Retired Henry Ford Health CEO Nancy Schlichting, who was appointed to the board in 2018 but resigned 10 months later over concerns the board was not committed to a thorough investigation of what led to the Nassar scandal or releasing the Nassar documents, said she was pleased the board had voted to release the documents.

"The transparency it will provide will give the survivors and their families the opportunity for healing and clarity they have sought for so long," Schlichting said in an email. "It will also create the foundation for the University to address structural and cultural weaknesses and to ensure a safe environment for students, faculty and staff."

Nessel in 2021 closed her office's official investigation into how MSU handled the scandal, but resurrected her request for release of the documents earlier this spring. The board said again it would not release the documents, and Vassar released a statement apologizing to victims for the university being a "continual site of trauma."

Even after that defeat, Nassar victims continued to lobby the board to release the documents during public comment period of board meetings and behind the scenes. The group called Parents of Sister Survivors Engage (POSSE) filed a lawsuit in July against the university and board, which alleged the board improperly held closed-door discussions and made decisions related to the release of documents.

At the board's Oct. 27 meeting, Denno sought a vote on releasing the university documents.

Denno's motion, seconded by Vassar, was ruled by Fletcher to run afoul of the board's bylaws, which require three trustees to support a motion to change the meeting agenda before the meeting takes place. Other trustees accused Denno of ambushing them with the motion, something he said after the meeting that he hadn't intended to do.

Vassar said after the Oct. 27 meeting that she expected a vote would be taken before the year's end.

kkozlowski@detroitnews.com