LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — And you thought Michigan State University’s problems were just on the gridiron. Not by a long shot.
The MSU Board of Trustees has a long history of internal disputes and here’s the most recent one. Over the weekend, Democratic board member Brianna Scott fired off a letter calling for the resignation of Democratic Rema Vassar of Detroit — the first African-American woman to chair the board.
Ms. Scott alleges that Ms. Vassar “violated board rules of conduct and ethics” and has been “bullying” board and administration officials, and Ms. Vassar is accused of “meddling” in the final report on the campus shooting last February.
Democratic trustee Dianne Byrum agrees with Ms. Scott. But Democratic board member Dennis Denno told The Detroit News he supports the chair, saying some board members are making “false accusations” and are “grandstanding.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is not taking a stance on all this, although she does have the power to remove any board member. Instead, her office issued a 74-word statement, which says if the charges are accurate, “it would be a huge breach of the public’s trust.”
And she accuses the board of lacking a “unified leadership or direction and tragically no accountability either.” Needless to say, this is extremely strong language aimed at a board controlled by her party.
Whitmer has ordered the board to “get to the bottom of this” — but so far, she has not added “or else.”
