The Board of Trustees will hold a private unveiling ceremony for the portrait of former MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon on Dec. 19. Simon’s portrait was a part of her 2019 retirement agreement with the board and the ceremony was not part of the agreement, deputy spokesperson Dan Olsen said.
Simon officially retired from presidency on Aug. 31, 2019 after resigning in 2018 at the height of ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar’s sentencing. In November 2018, Simon was charged with two counts of lying to a peace officer in a violent crime investigation and two counts of lying to a peace officer in a four-year or more crime investigation. All four charges were dismissed in May 2020.
Simon will be in attendance at the ceremony, Olsen said. Trustee Melanie Foster said she will also be attending, while trustees Renee Knake Jefferson and Rema Vassar said they will not be present.
In response to an email asking if she would be attending the ceremony, trustee Brianna Scott said, "NO."
The rest of the trustees did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Olsen said he had no comment on the reason for the ceremony. Board chair Dianne Byrum did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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