“YOU HAVE SAT TOO LONG HERE FOR ANY GOOD YOU HAVE BEEN
DOING. DEPART, I SAY, AND LET US HAVE DONE WITH YOU. IN THE
NAME OF GOD, GO.” — Oliver Cromwell to England’s Rump Parliament, 1653
— Member of Parliament Leo Amery, repeating Cromwell’s words to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin, 1940
— MP David Davis, again repeating Cromwell’s words to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 2022
That often-repeated Cromwellian quotation of outrage toward inept public officials and institutions
likely finds a responsive audience here in Michigan today.
The hard truth is that Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees is dysfunctional.
Michiganders, be they MSU alumni or not, Spartan fans or not, are disgusted by the continued
turmoil on the banks of the Red Cedar.
Nine long years have passed since a 2014 Title IX complaint was filed launching an investigation
into what became the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. Its fallout was devastating, it played a role
in the resignations of two Presidents — Lou Anna Simon and Samuel Stanley — and one
interim President, John Engler. Now, another sexual harassment scandal involving head football coach
Mel Tucker may bring down another interim President, Teresa Woodruff, who disclaimed any knowledge
of the details of the Tucker complaint until she read them in the pages of USA Today.
Some MSU Trustees say they were out of the loop. Other MSU Trustees, much like Woodruff,
said they deliberately avoided knowing the details of the Tucker complaint in order to maintain their
objectivity. The Board of Trustees has yet to collectively meet to discuss the Tucker matter.
Is this another example of speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil?
The Board of Trustees has an Audit, Risk, and Compliance Committee (ARC). What has the
ARC Committee been doing since December 2022, when the complaint was first filed against Tucker?
What was the role of the ARC Committee and the Board when they hired outside legal counsel
to investigate the complaint? What was the role of the ARC Committee and the Board when that
outside report was received in July? Did the Board have any role in the decision to keep that outside report
under seal and, by doing so, ‘green light’ Tucker to coach the team in preseason camp and the
first two football games in September before the USA Today article was published, leading to
his suspension without pay and, ultimately, his being fired?
Did some, all, or none of the Trustees, breach their fiduciary duty to MSU and the people of the
state of Michigan as Board members?
Governor Whitmer, an MSU alumna, says she wants answers. She can if she has the will.
Remember, SPARTANS WILL is the theme of her alma mater’s promotional ad aired at halftime
during MSU football games.
Retired Lansing attorney Bob LaBrant, an expert in constitutional law, notes that Article V, Section 10, of the
1963 Michigan Constitution provides:
“The governor shall have the power and it shall be his duty to inquire into the condition and
administration of any public office and the acts of any public officer, elective or appointive. He
may remove or suspend from office for gross neglect of duty or for corrupt conduct in office, or
for any other misfeasance or malfeasance therein, any elective or appointive state officer,
except legislative or judicial, and shall report the reasons for such removal or suspension to the
legislature.”
Article 5, Section 10, has been codified into the Michigan Election Code. The statute (MCL
168.293) provides that a state university board member subject to removal be served with a
written notice of the charges against him and be afforded an opportunity for a public hearing
conducted personally by the governor.
Article V, Section 11, provides for provisional appointments to fill vacancies due to suspension:
“The governor may make provisional appointment to fill a vacancy occasioned by the
suspension of an appointed or elected officer, other than a legislative or judicial officer, until he
is reinstated or until the vacancy is filled in the manner prescribed by law or this constitution.”
Under the 1850 Constitution Governor John Rich in 1894 removed and replaced the Secretary of
State, state Treasurer, and state Land Commissioner. Why? Because those three officials at the time
acted as the Board of state Canvassers, which falsified the results of an 1893 state ballot question amending
the constitution to give state officers a hike in salary when, in fact, the proposal was actually
defeated. Those removals were upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court in Attorney General ex
rel. Rich v Jochim, 99 Mich 358 (1894).
Under the 1908 Constitution, Governor Alexander Groesbeck in 1926 removed the state
Superintendent of Public Instruction for accepting additional compensation beyond that of his
state salary. That removal was also upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court.
In December 2002, the month before Governor Engler’s term was to expire, he called a removal
hearing against John F. Kelly, a former four-term state senator, who in 1998 was elected to the
Wayne State University Board of Governors. Engler cited in his call for a removal hearing a
conflict-of-interest he saw with WSU governor Kelly serving at the same time as General
Counsel and Vice President at the Detroit Medical College (DMC), affiliated with Wayne State
University.
Before the removal hearing was held, Governor Kelly took the hint and resigned from the
Wayne State University Board of Governors. Governor Engler named prominent Detroit attorney
Eugene Driker to replace Kelly on the WSU board.
Governor Whitmer has the power to investigate and hopefully uncover the underlying causes of
the Board of Trustees dysfunction. She also has the power to clean house, to suspend or remove
Trustees and name their replacements. She may find some, all, or none of the current Trustees
either neglected their clear duty as a Trustee or committed malfeasance or misfeasance.
Michigan’s 1963 Constitution enshrines partisan politics in the governance of the state’s Big
Three universities: the University of Michigan Board of Regents, Michigan State University Board
of Trustees, and Wayne State University Board of Governors.
UM and WSU have also experienced board dysfunction of their own this past decade with regard to
presidential replacements and the development of factions.
Each of the Big Three has an eight-member board, elected in staggered eight-year terms on a
partisan ballot. Those university governing boards have candidates nominated at state political
party conventions. Historically, major interest groups (e.g., organized labor, Farm Bureau, MEA,
Right to Life, abortion rights groups, LBGTQ organizations, etc.) in each party seek a say in who is
nominated for those boards. Generally, governing board elections are low key, with little campaign
spending because the party nominees for these educational governing boards have low name recognition
and win if their party’s candidate for president or governor carries the state.
Contrast the Big Three boards with the selection of members serving on the governing boards at the other
Michigan state universities such as Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan,
Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech, Grand Valley, Saginaw Valley, and Lake Superior where
the governor appoints those members.
If the legislature can pass a joint resolution to place on the ballot a proposed amendment to the constitution
to modify a controversial issue like term limits and avoid a costly petition drive, perhaps a constitutional amendment
in this current climate of educational board disgust can be placed on the ballot with the necessary 2/3 vote
in the legislature to eliminate partisan educational governing board elections and replace them with a system used
in most other states. In almost all other states, flagship public universities are governed by board members appointed
by the governor, not by election. In fact, Michigan is the ONLY state that elects statewide the members of the governing
boards of its major research universities. Three states (Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada) elect their governing boards
by district.
Maybe a more realistic alternative for reform of our dysfunctional Big Three boards would be to take advantage
of the flexibility written into Article 8, Section 5. Each board (U-M, MSU, and WSU) is required by the constitution
only to consist of eight members whose terms of office are eight years and SHALL BE ELECTED AS PROVIDED BY LAW
(meaning, by action of the legislature).
That means the legislature, with a simple majority vote in each chamber and with the signature of Governor Whitmer, can change Michigan’s election law to provide for nonpartisan elections or election of Big Three board members by districts. That’s not a stretch. We already have in place, by law, four Court of Appeals districts of nearly equal population drawn along county boundary lines. Those current districts could be used to amend the law to stagger the election of university board members so that each district could elect two UM, MSU and WSU board members allocated to it.
In 2008, then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm initiated removal proceedings against embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. She held one hearing, after which Kilpatrick threw in the towel. Everyone cheered.
So, now, will Gov. Whitmer pull the trigger against the MSU board and then request the Democrat-controlled Legislature, perhaps with Republican help, to finish the job of fixing Michigan’s broken university board system?
Not a chance. Whitmer would never further humiliate her alma mater by taking removal action against the MSU board. She also wouldn’t want to deflect attention away from her aggressive but uncompleted legislative agenda. Besides, there’s the chance she might compromise any national aspirations she may have.
Also, Democrats have majority control of the MSU board and all of the other three statewide education panels — U-M, WSU and the state Board of Education — as they have for most of the past seven decades. No political party takes points off the board. Democratic lawmakers don’t want to end the careers of their statewide fellow elected officials. Even with Whitmer’s urging, majority Democrats in the legislature would balk.
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Bill;
The losers are the students in all of this! Their educational opportunities, athletic opportunities are being challenged (and have hurt) these kids. These wonderful public education facilities need to be held accountable. I am so grateful that you spoke out on this Bill! It’s about time someone does!
In Mel Tucker’s case they victimized the victim. It’s unbelievable to many.
Shame on them!!
Thank you Bill, CKH
Victimizing the victims? Nothing new here.
In the Dr. Larry Nassar case, MSU spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in private investigation firm fees in an attempt to find proof discrediting the girls claiming abuse by Dr. Nassar. They apparently found very, very little.
I supported the nomination and candidacy of Dr. Travis Menge in 2022 to the MSU Board of Trustees – and he narrowly lost in the general election despite a “blue wave” resulting in landslide defeats for most GOP nominees in Michigan.
The Democratic-controlled Board of Trustees has been careless in enforcing its Title IX obligations to protect the student body against predatory behavior. To have another sex harassment scandal made public – this time regarding Mel Tucker is nothing short of disgusting.
Note:I ran for the Wayne State University Board of Governors in 2014 and 2016 attempting to dislodge the Democratic Party majority control.I felt we should be representing the interests parents and students as opposed to the faculty unions that were insulating school operations from diligent and proper oversight.
Thanks for shining the light, Bill,
This is a bad recipe no matter which way the loaf is cut. If a slice lands on your plate, I recommend staying away from the green flecks . . .
Travis Menge was a superior MSU board candidate in 2022 that lost because he was a GOP nominee.
The current board is clueless.
Nice article, Bill. And spot on. Except for Cromwell’s quote. My ancestors have some issues with him. And eventually so did the British. They brought back the Stuarts to the throne.
Bob LaBrant is right. Article V, Section 10 gives Whitmer (or any governor) all the authority she needs to rid herself – and us – of these fools. And if she were thinking clearly and actually did it, her slogan is easy: “GRETCHEN WHITMER, PUTTING THE TRUST BACK IN THE MSU BOARD OF TRUSTEES.” Not only would have Engler done this (though he would have enjoyed himself much too much doing it), it would be seen as a sign of strength on her part showing that she will punish those who are asleep at the wheel and damage Michigan and its citizens, even if they’re from her own party. Party activists would be unhappy (except those she appoints are replacements), but most of the rest of the citizens would holler “WELL DONE!”
Fixing the governing structure of all the “Big Three” universities is probably a bridge too far for her. It would offend the identity zealots in her own party, but it would be a sign of true leadership. Engler would have done it; Blanchard most likely would have done it; Romney might have done it; and it is probably something the Michigan GOP should champion. It might even force the Detroit Free Press opinion page to say something nice about them.
.
Oops. I forgot one more thing. There has been a spate of easy “punishments” of elected officials. Eric Smith anyone? Judge Tracy Green in Detroit? Whitmer going after such egregious misconduct, misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance among elected officials like the MSU Trustees might make people forget Judge Green (suspended instead of removed) and ex-prosecutor Smith (no state jail time and less than 6% restitution of the amount he “misappropriated”.
Eric Smith’s admitted malfeasance was uncovered as a result of partisan politics and that is why I believe that the Michigan Department of Attorney General may have gone easy and negotiated a sweet plea agreement for him to take advantage of.
Smith had earlier been reprimanded by the Attorney Discipline Board in 2012 for “discourteous treatment” of a person in the legal process.
Former GOP Macomb County Clerk Karen Spranger was charged in a highly publicized criminal prosecution for financial mismanagement under Eric Smith’s office. Her attorney later filed a FOIA request seeking county forfeiture financial records on behalf of another Macomb GOP activist and enforced the request in circuit court and the court-ordered production of those financial records relating to forfeiture funds revealed highly questionable expenditures resulting in a Michigan State Police investigation and eventual charges by the Michigan Attorney General against Smith and several senior officials in his office.
Spranger later obtained a plea deal with Interim Macomb County Prosecutor Jean Cloud in which she pled to a misdemeanor and received probation. The amount in controversy was about $1,500 in funds she was alleged to have mismanaged.
The Eric Smith scandal poisoned the electorate in 2020 in Macomb County against Democrats and Peter Lucido became the first Republican to be elected
Macomb County Prosecutor. The GOP gained a majority on the Board of Commissioners for the first time in the county’s history. Eric Smiths brother is the former BOC chairman.
The prosecution of Eric Smith by the Michigan Attorney General dragged on for 3-1/2 years. Circuit Court Judge Nanci Grant criticized the length of plea negotiations after Eric Smith surrendered to federal authorities to begin a sentence for campaign finance violations.he serves less than one year of a 21-month federal prison sentence due to COVID-19 constraints on the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Smith is sentenced to one day in jail by Judge Grant, who emphasizes that her hands are tied from imposing a harsher sentence because of the plea deal negotiated between Nessel’s office and Smiths defense attorneys. Smiths former chief assistant, Ben Liston receives a 60-day jail sentence despite the fact he cooperated with MSP and the AG in the Smith prosecution.
Don’t expect Democrats to aggressively prosecute fellow Democrats.
Meanwhile, Dana Nessel chases rainbows in the “fake elector” prosecutions while she punts to the feds on the much stronger GBI Strategies vote fraud case meticulously investigated by MSP.
And is any of that surprising?
I seem to remember that when Lawrence Rocca became Macomb County Treasurer, that they started looking at Smith’s books, and that Rocca got a compliment on his work from Mark Hackel (the change in treasurer now made real audits possible). Sweetheart deal does not begin to describe how he was treated by Nessel.
As an alumnus of MSU, class of 1965, I generally agree with the comments made by followers. One of my relatives was a President of MSU after the great John Hannah. He confided that the office of President has so many avenues of service, that he feared that many in the office would defer to the Trustees, rather than use the Trustees as a sounding board for policy. The real efforts had to be made by administrators, and as we have noted, few are well qualified to function at an admirable level. Some because of lack of training and ability to manage a huge enterprise, and some because the Trustees want to micromanage the business and responsibilities of education.
I also agree Bill that politically it is unlikely that our Governor will step in to assert a de facto Receivership over the MSU institution. Perhaps another way to accomplish the needed reforms and reorganization is to create new colleges, specializing in certain areas, Perhaps, education, engineering, liberal arts and science and medicine. Each with their own governing body, charter, and ability to grant degrees. That would make the overall responsibilities of governing a school more manageable, and perhaps accountable. At present, MSU has not really had a John Hannah type President for over 50 years, and leading with a velvet glove, and a firm hand, has its own benefits in a somewhat psychotic educational environment, with the boardroom cats trying to manage the institution.
Bill nice Job !,But it’s a little premature .
Let’s see how they handle the Tucker matter.
Let’s see how they handle the Coaching Change! Who would have thought what happened would? Give them a break !!
Are you up to eating some crow? Remember what FDR Said : It’s not what you have Lost
It’s what you got left and what you do with it
That’s The Most Important !
The Mel Tucker incident is a disgrace.
Of course Ol’ Mel will lawyer up and try to make himself the victim of “due process violations.”
You could add WSU’s failure to ratify the Medical School’s strategic collaboration with the Henry Ford Health System to the list of governance failures by our elected university boards.
I already have.
I campaigned for the Wayne State University Board of Governors in 2014 and 2016 as a candidate.
The Democratic-majority board at WSU has done far too little to advance the interests of the university and its student body.
MSU has never had an adequate system in place to investigate and adjudicate Titie XI violations and neither has U-M.
That is why we have these continual non-stop sex harassment scandals.
The problem lies in our elected boards at MSU and U-M. They are controlled by Democratic Party nominees who cannot run a university.
You are absolutely correct, Ramona. Well stated!
Please be careful of stating too many inconvenient facts; you may confuse people, at best, or incur their wrath, at worst. Stupid is as stupid does
Historical note: Cromwell may have had a silver tongue as an orator, but he certainly proved himself to be corrupt and ineffectual when he served as Lord Protector following the English Civil War. His death in 1658 was a good thing for merry ol’ England (Harding’s death in 1923 would be the closest comparison in American history, but still falls short), paving the way for the Stuart Restoration in 1660 and the eventual Glorious Revolution. Cromwell was every bit the tyrant that Charles I who was deposed before him was . Hobbes was right when it came to political transformations of power: be careful what you ask for!