MSU trustee defends conduct, slams board culture before Sunday meeting

Michigan State University Trustee Dennis Denno on Sunday defended Chair Rema Vassar and himself while rejecting the claims of a high-profile report, implying that the report's investigators had an agenda to "target" Vassar when it recommended her and his possible removals by the governor.

Denno made the comments in a statement hours before a 10 p.m. special board meeting scheduled for Sunday to discuss the report released earlier this past week by Washington, D.C.-based law firm Miller & Chevalier and before MSU President-elect Kevin Guskiewicz is set to become MSU's 22nd president on Monday.

The outside law firm investigated 10 allegations that Trustee Brianna Scott lodged against Vassar in October, including violating the board's rules of conduct and ethics, and bullying board members and administrators. The report said it substantiated some, but not all, of the allegations, adding that in some cases trustees' behavior "fell short of the conduct expected of Trustees and fiduciaries of a public institution like MSU."

The report also concluded that some trustees assumed "an outsized role in the institution" after the sexual abuse scandal involving MSU sports doctor Larry Nassar and turnover in the president's office. The board's dynamics created fears of retaliation among the university's leaders and Vassar and Denno, "in particular, have engaged in conduct that exceeds the scope of their authority," the law firm claimed.

"I refute most of the allegations in the Miller Chevalier (MC) report," Denno wrote, speaking publicly for the first time about it. "When I asked questions in a nine-page document about possible ethical and other violations by three other trustees, MC 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.

"I’m proud of the work accomplished in my first 14 months on the board," Denno continued. "I proudly chaired the MSU Presidential Search Committee, which resulted in bringing a highly qualified candidate to lead MSU. And it was Dr. Rema and I who fought for releasing the Nassar documents, which was frustratingly much more difficult than it had to be."

Michigan State began this past Friday to release some of the thousands of Nassar documents previously held since 2016 under attorney-client privilege after the board voted unanimously in December to release them.

Denno acknowledged he used words with students that, "when taken out of context, were inappropriate."

"My intent was to help a group of Arab-American students who felt marginalized by the administration and unsafe on campus," Denno said. "Our Arab American, African American, Muslim American, Asian American, female, and survivor community have consistently said they do not feel safe on campus and that they have no voice. I will always stand up to racism and try to assist those who are marginalized and victimized. Dr. Rema Vassar and I are the only trustees who have consistently tried to assist these groups, and for that I will not apologize."

Denno also said he has asked a lot of questions as a trustee, which hasn't gone over well with administrators.

"When people often ask me: 'what’s wrong the MSU Board of Trustees?' the answer is simple: too many trustees go-along-to-get-along and they do not ask questions, which is greatly concerning; I ask questions," Denno wrote.

"In my first 14 months on the board, I quickly realized that trustees were expected to go-along-to-get-along. My intention is and has always been to make MSU, the greater Lansing community and Michigan a better place. I do so by asking questions. That has rubbed people in the administration and on the board wrong, but I cannot apologize for asking questions."

He also said that not enough questions were asked during the sexual abuse scandal involving MSU sports doctor Larry Nassar.

"Maybe if more trustees asked questions during the Nassar scandal, the situation would not have been as bad for MSU and, more importantly, for the survivors, who are still struggling with MSU’s actions; notably, not one trustee was censured or punished during that scandal," Denno wrote.

Denno gave an example of questions he asked about interim President Teresa Woodruff's transition to a new role on Monday, without naming her in his statement. Woodruff will become a special adviser to the president and provost focused on developing honorifics until July 14, 2024 at the salary she had as provost, $562,069, according to MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant.

"When the board was told that an administrator was going to make over $500,000 for a position called 'honorifics,' I asked four basic questions: What were the qualifications for the position? Was the position publicly posted? How many people applied? And what were the expected outcomes from the position?" Denno wrote. "The administration did not want to answer these questions, one long-serving trustee accused me of 'badgering' the administration, and two trustees asked me to stop asking questions. I have a constitutional duty to protect taxpayer money, not to kowtow to bureaucrats in academia."

Whitmer should review removing Michigan State trustees Vassar, Denno, law firm urges

Denno also pointed to whom was interviewed by the Jones Day law firm to determine the leak of the name of the woman who accused former football coach Mel Tucker of sexual misconduct.

"No trustee knew of her name, yet over 20 administrators did and none were asked to give up their phones," Denno said. "If Jones Day’s charge was to truly determine who leaked her name, they would have interviewed everyone in the President’s office, athletics, football, OIE, RVSM, and in the legal department. They did not, despite the fact that MSU paid Jones Day handsomely with taxpayer and tuition dollars."

Denno concluded his statement by saying he would accept a censure, "but contest any other form of punishment."

"What has been proposed is overly-punitive in nature. I do not believe the board has legal grounds or ability to impose such extreme restrictions, which would limit my ability to represent this great school, speak for my Arab-American community, and the survivor community, and I have legal counsel reviewing a potential lawsuit should this board not do the right thing here as I have agreed to do," he wrote.

The scheduled Sunday board meeting about the report will be held via Zoom, and it's time is so late because some board members are traveling and in many time zones, Guerrant said.

Scott wrote a letter to fellow board members in October, outlining the allegations against Vassar. She urged Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to intervene and remove Vassar if the chair didn't resign. At the time, Vassar called it a "hit job" and more. Vassar, Denno and Scott are Democrats on a Democratic-dominated board, and Whitmer is a fellow Democrat.

An attempt to remove Vassar by the board failed during an emotional October board meeting, leading to the hiring of Miller & Chevalier.

The cost to hire the law firm is unclear. Guerrant said MSU has only received invoices from the law firm through the end of November, or one month of work. The firm has not sent MSU invoices for December, January or February yet, she said.

Among the allegations that the Miller & Chevalier report said it substantiated was that Vassar tried to negotiate a settlement with former MSU business school dean Sanjay Gupta in his lawsuit against the university without the authority of Woodruff or other board members.

The report also cited interviews showing that Vassar and Denno "encouraged students to embarrass Interim President Woodruff."

The law firm recommended that Whitmer review the allegations against Vassar and Denno and consider removing them under a process set out by state law.

"While Dr. Vassar does not agree that any Board of Trustees guidelines were violated, she is gratified that there was no finding of any undue influence, personal benefit, or harm to the University," said Vassar's attorney E. Powell Miller said.

Whitmer's office didn't directly address whether the governor would consider potentially removing Vassar and Denno from office but said the findings were "concerning."

The law firm also found that Scott violated the board's policies by making public her letter of accusations against Vassar that included confidential information about the university general counsel's and outside legal counsel's advice on negotiating a settlement with Gupta.

Scott has said the report "corroborated much of what I alleged and more" and added she accepts "full responsibility for my actions and will accept a censure from the Board." She said she wants Vassar to resign as board chair and Denno to step down as chair of the Committee on Academic Affairs.

kkozlowski@detroitnews.com