Whitmer urged by MSU board to take rare step with trustees Vassar, Denno

For the first time in 15 years, Michigan's governor might take the rare step of holding a hearing to remove a public official from office after Michigan State University's Board of Trustees agreed Sunday night to punish and restrict the duties of two trustees and censure another one.

The board held an unusual Sunday 10 p.m. virtual special meeting, sanctioning former Chair Rema Vassar and Trustee Dennis Denno and asking Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to consider a report outlining violations documented in an investigative report, and possibly remove them from the board.

The last hearing the Governor's Office could find was in September 2008 when then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm held a removal hearing about Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick connected to his affair with a top aide, Whitmer Director of Communications Bobby Leddy said Monday. The hearing was stopped when Kilpatrick agreed to resign from office.

The MSU board also voted to censure Trustee Brianna Scott and accepted Vassar's resignation as board chair.

The board's moves came hours before MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz on Monday began his first day as the university's sixth president in six years.

The actions came after MSU released a highly anticipated report last week conducted by Washington, D.C. -based law firm Miller & Chevalier that recommended the actions the board took after Scott outlined 10 allegations against Vassar in an October letter that resulted in the law firm's investigation.

"As we have done in similar instances, we will take the time to carefully review this request upon official receipt of the formal communication from the board," said Stacey LaRouche, Whitmer's press secretary.

A parent group advocating against sexual violence sent a letter to three dozen MSU alumni chapters, portraying the board's actions as "a palace coup ... hours before a new president took charge, that put in place new MSU board leadership based on personal interests."

"We are alarmed by actions we believe will weaken this institution, open it to future risks, and harm its reputation," said the letter written by POSSE, a parent group founded in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. "The board’s recommendation that the governor remove Dr. Rema Vassar and Trustee Dennis Denno from the board weakens oversight by attempting to muzzle two who have suggested ways to improve the institution. ... These two board members stuck their necks out for transparency and accountability at MSU, and they found their heads on the chopping block."

During the remote meeting, the trustees approved Vice Chair Dan Kelly, the board's lone Republican, as the board's new chair and Trustee Kelly Tebay as vice chair.

In 6-2 votes, the board accepted the findings by Miller & Chevalier that Vassar and Denno had violated the board's ethics policies and bylaws, recommending the governor consider removing them as trustees. The move was opposed by Denno and Vassar, who resigned as chair two hours before the meeting. The resolutions censured Vassar and Denno as well as suspended them from participating in board-related activities through Dec. 31, except for duties as elected officials.

That means that Vassar and Denno will not be asked to represent the university at events, be part of ceremonial duties and will not receive athletic or special event tickets though they can still purchase and attend if they wish, MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant said. Vassar and Denno can still be on board committees, but not chair them, as well as vote at board meetings, Guerrant said.

Denno was removed from serving as the chair of the board's Committee on Academic Affairs. Vassar was removed as liaison to the MSU and Henry Ford Health Steering Committee.

Vassar responds

During the meeting, Vassar called the measures "punitive" and "over the top" and said she was proud of her board service in a long statement.

"While I concede that I could have made different decisions in some cases over the past year, I maintain that I disagree with some of the findings and recommendations," Vassar said. "This report is incomplete and omits some very important information and key voices that would have provided a fuller and different picture of the circumstances and intentions of the people involved."

As the first Black woman to chair the MSU board, Vassar spoke of being an African American woman and how they "and other people of color and women are often held to a much higher standard ... " She said not enough attention has been given to the work the board has done and promised to be a supporter of those who are marginalized.

"Despite my good intentions, I've had missteps," Vassar said. "I'm committed to doing what's necessary to improve my performance. And I know we all want to do better as a board in the future. It's essential that we do so for the benefit of MSU.

"Our welcome of a new university president is the perfect opportunity for us to rededicate ourselves to that goal."

Michigan State University's Rema Vassar resigning as board chair

Denno did not comment during the meeting, instead referring to a statement he issued earlier in the day in which he slammed the culture of the board and implied that the report's investigators had an agenda to "target" Vassar when it recommended the governor consider removing him and Vassar.

Scott weighs in

In a 7-1 vote, the board issued a censure of Scott, which she had said she would accept. Miller & Chevalier substantiated a violation of the Code of Ethics in Scott’s dissemination to the press and the public of a letter, which included references to confidential and privileged attorney/client communications that she did not have authority to disclose.

But Scott said during the meeting Sunday that she didn't understand what sort of precedent was being set to censure a trustee for pointing out "dysfunction and some improprieties."

Unlike Denno and Vassar, Scott wasn't suspended from board activities. Vassar voted against the censure of Scott. All are Democrats on the Democratic-led board.

"It's really unfortunate we had to get to this place," Scott said. "... It's hurtful to me that my legacy will be that I was censured as a trustee for doing what I felt had to be done under the circumstances. ... But I do not regret it. I believe ultimately what needed to be disclosed has been and the university is in a better place and will continue to improve because of this investigation and what we've learned and the corrective actions that we're taking."

The law firm was retained after Scott lodged 10 allegations against Vassar. The report concluded that it substantiated some, but not all of the allegations against Vassar. It also broadened the investigation to explore other claims against certain trustees.

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

The law firm said some trustees were "assuming an outsized role in the institution" after the sexual abuse scandal involving medical sports Dr. Larry Nassar and turnover in the president's office. Five presidents have served MSU, and many have left before their terms ended, because of issues linked to Nassar or the scandal.

Among the report's findings, the law firm accused Vassar and Denno of retaliating against Faculty Senate Chair Jack Lipton for urging Vassar's resignation as board chair and complaining about Vasser letting "the mob rule the room" at a contentious Oct. 27 board meeting, referring to Black students.

"(T)he actions of Chair Vassar and Trustee Denno in orchestrating a campaign of personal attacks through student groups and the press suggest that they were primarily motivated by personal animus against Dr. Lipton, likely generated by Dr. Lipton’s call for Chair Vassar’s resignation," according to the report. The law firm said despite free speech arguments, the efforts of Denno and Vassar "to direct students to publicly label Dr. Lipton a racist contravene their duties as MSU fiduciaries."

Vassar told The Detroit News she resigned because she wanted to be "fiscally responsible," after the board authorized two outside law firms and spent thousands of tax payer dollars on two investigations to "frame me."

'They tried to silence me in all sorts of ways. MSU doesn’t need this," Vassar said.

Denno defended himself and Vassar in a statement issued Sunday, saying his practice of asking a lot of questions to ensure accountability hasn't gone over well with administrators and some board members.

"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," Denno said.

kkozlowski@detroitnews.com