MSU board chair Vassar presents her comments and report during a Board of Trustees meeting, held at the Hannah Administration Building on Feb. 10, 2023.
Michigan State University’s faculty senate moved Thursday to file a report with the school’s accreditor alerting them to conduct of embattled board chair Rema Vassar which they believe could jeopardize accreditation.
The resolution also called for Vassar’s resignation, and said that if she refuses, the other trustees should vote her out as chair and call on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to completely remove her from the board.
MSU’s accreditor, The Higher Learning Commission, or HLC, requires that a governing board must not be influenced by donors or those outside the university and must not interfere in the day-to-day business of the administration.
That’s an issue for MSU, the resolution said, because Vassar has admitted to flying to a sporting event on a donor’s private jet and appearing in an ad for a former trustee’s wealth management firm. The resolution also pointed to evidence that Vassar has repeatedly overstepped into the administration's business.
Losing accreditation would jeopardize MSU's federal funding and ability to offer financial aid.
The full breadth of Vassar’s misconduct remains a subject of debate. A letter sent to the board Sunday by trustee Brianna Scott calling for Vassar’s removal alleged numerous MSU policy violations across her time as chair.
Vassar has since responded, calling the allegations “fabrications” and saying she will not step down. MSU’s office of audit risk and compliance is currently investigating the veracity of the allegations. It’s unclear when their probe will be complete.
Senators supportive of the resolution argued that doesn’t matter, because they say what’s already been admitted or proven is enough to threaten MSU’s accreditation.
“I strongly believe that she has put MSU in jeopardy now,” senator Jamie Allen, who introduced the resolution, said.
If the faculty are aware of conduct that could hurt the university’s status and don’t report it, MSU’s accreditation could be further endangered, Allen said.
Stacia Moroski-Rigney, MSU’s director of accreditation, curriculum, and compliance said at the meeting that she’s talked to MSU’s contact at the HLC “every day this week” because their organization is concerned that Vassar’s conduct could violate MSU’s accreditation.
“HLC needs to see changes” to keep MSU within compliance, Moroski-Rigney said.
Aside from the conduct’s accreditation implications, some senators felt it compromised her ability to ethically fulfill her duties on the board.
“If any of us as faculty went on a private jet with a student, we would be ethically questioned,” senator Justin St. Charles said. “... she said ‘well it cost the university nothing,’ that’s not our issue with it.”
Senator Angela Wilson said she worried it could impact the university’s ongoing presidential search.
“The last thing we want is for a new president to walk into this big giant mess, we need to have this cleaned up for a new president,” Wilson said at the meeting.
Senator Claire Margerisen worried the problems may go farther than just Vassar. She pointed to her rebuttal, which dismissed many of the allegations by saying the conduct is common amongst trustees.
“How do we know that asking her to resign will change things, if potentially it’s multiple members of the board," Margerisen said.
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