Faculty Senate Chair John Aerni-Flessner said that the purely advisory action organized by the Faculty Senate Steering Committee was "not a campaign against anyone" but "to have the president and the board see where faculty stand, so that they can take that into consideration."

More than 53% of voters said they have confidence and trust in the president. Of those, 37% said they don’t have that trust in him, and 9.5% abstained. 

The two resolutions faculty were asked to vote on were "that the Academic Congress of MSU lacks confidence and trust in President Guskiewicz to effectively lead MSU" and "that the Academic Congress of MSU lacks confidence and trust in the Board of Trustees to effectively oversee MSU."

All 4,103 faculty members were eligible to cast a ballot. The participation rate for the vote was 34%. The voting took place in the middle of summer when many of them are off contract, Aerni-Flessner said participation was "impressive showing for the time of year."

This distrust for the board is not new for faculty members, Aerni-Flessner said. 

"There has been distrust in the board stretching back many years now. Especially those of us who were here through the Nassar years and beyond," Aerni-Flessner said. 

The last vote of confidence in the board was in October 2022, following President Samuel Stanley’s resignation and infighting on the board that led to an investigation into the trustees. In that vote, 90.6% of voting faculty said they didn’t have confidence in the board. 

"Technically, the board did slightly better than the last time we called out the academic congress," Aerni-Flessner said. "They could take a little bit of solace in that."

In a statement sent to The State News, Board Chair Brianna Scott wrote that she didn't believe the "hard work, dedication and reliable support of the majority of the Board is reflected in the results of the vote by the Academic Congress. I recognize that at times there have been instances that contribute to a negative impression of the Board, but despite our disagreements, we are all invested in the success of MSU." 

In Guskiewicz’s initial departure announcement for Clemson University, he said working with the MSU board was an "unsustainable situation". 

Nearly six weeks later when Guskiewicz decided to stay at MSU, he wrote in another community letter that he was "sincerely sorry" for any uncertainty that he caused. He also acknowledged a need to rebuild trust. Aerni-Flessner said faculty "appreciate those words."

Upon announcing he would stay at MSU, Guskiewicz told The State News that he had had "productive conversations about how the board can operate more strategically."

"I do believe that we're going to continue to have conversations with all eight of our trustees working together so that we're all hearing the same thing at the same time, and allowing opportunities for any trustee to voice their concern or opposition to something but in a respectful way,” Guskiewicz said. 

The Board's next meeting is on September 11.

"There needs to be a recommendation from all eight board members to work together in the best interest of this institution," Aerni-Flessner said. "We need a board that is willing to ask the hard questions that oversight demands. At the same time, they don't undermine each other or the institution. That's a delicate balance that they're not managing right now."