Months of tension within Michigan State University’s administration came to a head on March 3, when an embattled Board of Trustees voted to refer two of its own members to the governor for removal.
It’s now up to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to decide whether the findings of trustee misconduct that prompted the vote meet the bar set by article five, section ten of the state constitution — a provision that gives her broad power to remove publicly elected officials from office for "gross neglect of duty or for corrupt conduct in office, or for any other misfeasance or malfeasance therein."
Legal experts told The State News that the findings — that trustee Rema Vassar and Dennis Denno breached board bylaws and code of ethics by interfering in university affairs and using student groups to retaliate against colleagues, among other things — do warrant removal under the constitution.
But they said it's important for the board members to be able to counter the findings before Whitmer makes a decision, and warned of their potential removal being used as political fodder — something Vassar claimed is already happening.
The board's unprecedented, late-night vote came months after trustee Brianna Scott wrote a letter to the board in October 2023, calling for then-board chair Vassar’s removal. Her claims — that Vassar bullied colleagues and overstepped her role as chair — became the basis of an outside investigation into board impropriety which started weeks later.
The investigation, conducted by law firm Miller & Chevalier, concluded in late February. Investigators recommended MSU refer the board members to the governor for potential removal.
Days later, the board voted 6-2 to do just that, moving the contentious situation from the university’s hands to the governor's.
Whitmer’s press secretary last said her office will "carefully review" the request.
But there’s very little precedent to guide her decision. Officers usually resign or are convicted of a crime before governors can see their removal to completion.
But legal experts say Whitmer has enough reason to make history by removing Vassar and Denno.