Internal communications obtained by The State News have corroborated elements of that complaint, showing Brogdon instructed a junior staffer to improperly pull specific employee files, delete evidence she had done so, and keep her direct superior in the dark about that work. 

The complaint also alleged that Brogdon assigned the task at the behest of then-Board of Trustees Chair Rema Vassar and the university's presidential search committee, which was just underway, though Vassar has denied any connection. 

The university has previously declined to say whether Brogdon’s departure was a resignation or termination, but records obtained by The State News through a Freedom of Information Act request confirm the latter. 

"This letter is to inform you that consistent with the terms and conditions of your appointment as an executive manager, your appointment is being terminated with Michigan State University," wrote Executive Vice President for Administration Vennie Gore to Brogdon on March 3. 

The letter said that Brogdon’s last day of work at MSU would be March 3 — the same day the termination letter was sent. 

Brogdon’s contract contained an "at-will" clause, meaning she could be terminated "at any time without notice or cause," the letter said. It continued that she would stay on MSU payroll and receive university health benefits through June 3, and that she would be compensated for unused vacation time. 

Despite confirmation that MSU did, in fact, terminate Brogdon, the reasons for why are still unclear: MSU spokesperson Amber McCann said in an emailed statement to The State News "Ms. Brogdon’s departure is a personnel matter, and the university does not comment on personnel matters."

McCann suggested the termination was not related to the allegations contained in the whistleblower complaint against Brogdon that are now being investigated by the university’s Office of Audit, Risk and Compliance. 

"The university became aware of allegations regarding (Brogdon) that have been reported on by the media, after her departure from the university," she said. 

The investigation of the complaint against Brogdon is "not yet completed," McCann said. 

An ‘urgent records request’

A copy of that complaint and contemporaneous internal communications obtained by The State News have shed light on the allegations being investigated by MSU. 

They show Brogdon enlisted a junior staffer — Unit Services Assistant Courtney Hanneman — to carry out a covert records snooping task in April 2023.

The two had become friendly in the months before, according to the complaint, which says they "enjoyed gossiping."

"(Brogdon) is like me," the complaint alleged Hanneman once said. "We love having dirt on people."

Hanneman was scheduled to finish working at 4:30 p.m. the day of the file seizure, according to the complaint. Another employee was surprised when she was still online around 5 p.m., using a shared secure drive to save files of senior administrators and academic staff.

The employee checked a spreadsheet used to keep track of incoming requests for personnel information, and found that no one was listed as seeking the files Hanneman was pulling.

Hanneman explained that Brogdon had told her to "remain in the office after 5pm when most people had left for the day and to start compiling specific files," according to the complaint.

The unorthodox request is documented in emails from that day, according to copies obtained by The State News, which were released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Brogdon "did not want a lot of eyes on this request," Hanneman wrote in one email. She said "it was confidential" in another, responding to concerns from another staffer.

In another email a few days later, Hanneman explained the request more fully, saying Brogdon told her to "look through the files and if anything derogatory or disciplinary was in there to make her aware."

Brogdon also apparently instructed Hanneman to make sure her activities couldn't be revealed in requests under Michigan's public records laws.

"She did not want anything FOIAable, which is why I had deleted the items as she told me after I had compiled some," Hanneman wrote in an email. "She did not want a lot of people on the request as it was a high request."

Brogdon requested that Hanneman be compensated for the after-hours project.

"I received an urgent records request and asked (Hanneman) to work this evening," Brogdon wrote in an email. "I will authorize her overtime pay/hours to fulfill the request."

Reached by The State News via email, Hanneman initially requested to review the complaint, and later said "I have read this document, and my only statement is that everything characterized about me is false or out of context."

"This is one person's perspective, and it is unjust of them to spread such misinformation of another person especially with the line of work I do which I (sic) why I am making a statement."

Trustee accused of prompting request

The complaint also suggested Brogdon made the request on the behalf of then-board Chair Vassar. 

Hanneman told another employee that information "was for Rema (Vassar) and the search committee," according to the complaint.

At the time, the board was working to assemble a committee tasked with filling the university’s vacant presidency. Vassar had appointed Dennis Denno, another trustee, to chair it.

Vassar and Denno have both since been censured by the board after an outside investigation found that they repeatedly inappropriately interfered in the university's administration, sometimes for personal gain.

The allegation of improper interference could further swirl that scandal, which was said to be simmering down. Michigan's governor has spent more than a year considering a referral from the board to consider removing Vassar and Denno from office, while MSU's leaders have suggested in recent months that the issues have largely dissipated on their own.

Vassar previously said she did not tell Brogdon to seek the employee information and has not been contacted by MSU's investigators. She did suggest someone else may know more, saying "notice the report says, 'Rema and the search committee.'"

"Maybe the committee knows what is referenced here," Vassar said.

Denno sent a statement to The State News at the time saying "As Chair of the Presidential Search Committee I do not recall requesting any documents from Christina Brogdon or her team."

The complaint raised a concern that Brogdon could have made other similar demands, saying that Hanneman referred to herself as "(Brogdon’s) mole" in the months after the covert record pulling. It also says Brogdon discussed changing Hanneman’s responsibilities to allow access to more types of university records.

Other allegations in the complaint include: Brogdon influencing hiring decisions in favor of personal acquaintances; speaking inappropriately in the workplace of "her dating apps and profiles;" leaving people out of "recognition communications and celebrations for interim duty performance" based on "race and retaliation;" and, making comments about staffers "needing a babysitter," saying "people need to choose between motherhood and working."

The complaint also claims that, at a meeting, Brogdon "advised she was 'married to MSU,' and made a remark about intimacy that made many uncomfortable," the complaint said.

Senior Reporters Alex Walters and Theo Scheer and Administration Reporter Emilio Perez Ibarguen contributed reporting.