It’s rare for a Michigan governor to remove a member of a university governing board. But with recent calls for Michigan State University’s board chair to be removed, the decades-unused constitutional right may finally be utilized.
MSU trustee Brianna Scott called on board chair Rema Vassar to resign Sunday night, alleging she bullied colleagues, interfered in legal disputes and refused to comply in an investigation into who allegedly leaked the identity of Brenda Tracy, whom the university found to have been sexually harassed by fired football coach Mel Tucker.
“If she chooses not to (resign), I call upon my fellow trustees to remove her as Chair and to refer her to the Governor for removal,” Scott said in her letter.
MSU initiated an investigation into her alleged conduct Monday morning. Vassar, who has since disputed the allegations, told WKAR that she would not resign even if found guilty.
So far, Dianne Byrum is the only other board member to publicly support Vassar’s removal, while trustee Dennis Denno has defended Vassar. The other trustees have not made public statements. Six of the eight trustees are needed to vote her off of the board, according to the board’s bylaws.
With Vassar unwilling to step down and her fellow trustees split or silent on whether to remove her, attention has turned to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to make the final call. But what would that process look like, should Whitmer decide to remove her?
The process
Steven Liedel, who was general counsel to former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said governors have the right to remove public officials under article five, section ten of the state constitution.
They are also required to pursue allegations of misconduct of state officers if evidence is presented.
“If you have some information that someone is engaging in this constitutionally prohibited activity, already the governor has the duty to inquire further,” Liedel said.
Liedel said the governor would then look at what information is available to determine if the official engaged in what the Michigan constitution describes as “gross neglect of duty or for corrupt conduct in office, or for any other misfeasance or malfeasance therein.”
While not outlined in the constitution, it’s common for a hearing to then take place if the governor determines the behavior warrants removal or suspension. This provides the officer in question an opportunity to respond to the alleged violations.
“The governor himself or herself is actually either scheduled to conduct the hearing or actually conducts the hearing,” Liedel said. “There’s a lot of discretion vested in the governor.”
It would again be up to the governor to weigh the evidence at the hearing and decide whether to officially remove the official.
Hearings don’t necessarily have to be public. Liedel said there’s not much of a precedent to follow, since it’s historically rare the governor actually gets to the hearing stage.
“Typically, these things resolve themselves; people resign, they may be convicted of a crime which results in their immediate removal from office,” Liedel said.
Liedel isn’t aware of a governor removing any university governing board member under the current state constitution, which was ratified in 1963.
The closest a governor’s gotten was when removal proceedings were initiated by John Engler against Wayne State University board member John Kelly in 2002. Kelly resigned before he could be removed.
Should a university governing board member resign or be removed, it’s up to the governor to fill vacancies.
Whitmer’s plans
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While Whitmer said she is not taking a position on the veracity of the allegations against Vassar, she called the claims “deeply concerning” and said she’ll be watching the board "closely" before taking action to remove a trustee.
In audio obtained from The State News, Whitmer also said that her office discussed changing the current system that selects the trustees, outlined in the Michigan constitution. Currently, university board members are elected state-wide, but Whitmer said there have been conversations in the capitol over making trustee positions appointment-only.
Whitmer said the Vassar decision may also affect the legislative session. Her legal team is looking into a law that says the governor can only remove board members when the legislature is not in session.
However, these changes would not fix MSU's current issue with the board, Whitmer said. She sent a letter to the board calling for transparency and stressing the importance of cooperating with the investigation into the alleged leak of Brenda Tracy’s identity.
Scott claimed Vassar refused to hand over her phone for the leak investigation. Vassar said that no board members have given up their phones.
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