Michigan State University President Samuel Stanley announced his resignation on Thursday, saying he has "lost confidence" in the East Lansing school's board of trustees.
In a video posted Thursday on YouTube, Stanley said that he gave his contractually required 90-day notice of resignation to MSU's Board of Trustees. His last day will be Jan. 11.
"I know very well from the outpouring of support that I have had from students, staff, faculty, shared governance, alumni donors, affinity groups and others, that many of you will be profoundly disappointed in my decision," Stanley said.
But he said he has lost confidence in the board, like the MSU Faculty Senate and Associated Students of MSU, and he "could not, in good conscience, continue to serve this board."
Stanley, who earned a base annual salary of $960,000, resigned without good reason, a provision in his contract. Under that provision, he will no longer be entitled to his president's compensation or benefits other than "accrued rights," which university spokesman Dan Olsen said included any unpaid expenses and the university's indemnification benefits.
The clause in Stanley's contract of resigning without good reason gave him the option of becoming a tenured member of the College of Human Medicine as a distinguished physician, with a $400,000 annual salary. But he will not be joining the MSU faculty, Olsen said.
In his resignation letter, Stanley said he would fulfill his duties as president, cooperate and provide reasonable assistance in transition to a new president and vacate the university president's house.
Stanley's resignation twisted an MSU saga that started in September with the board asking him to leave his post early due to the university's handling of sexual misconduct issues. It stretched on for a month, with some MSU communities rallying behind his tenure, before the president announced Thursday he could no longer work for the board.
"It has been my privilege to serve this great institution and the students, faculty, staff and alumni who are the heart and soul of the university," Stanley said in an email.
Board of Trustees Chair Dianne Byrum and Vice Chair Dan Kelly could not be immediately reached for comment.
Stanley's departure comes after some board members raised concerns about how he handled questions and concerns from the board related to the aftermath of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal and processes linked to sexual misconduct complaints.
In September, the board's leadership offered Stanley, 68, a path out of the post he's held since 2019 before his contract ends Aug. 1, 2024. Byrum said then that she and Kelly asked him if he was open to amending his contract to leave a year early so a search could be started for a new president, even though she objected to Stanley leaving the university early. Trustee Melanie Foster joined Byrum in opposing Stanley's departure, leading to a fracture among board members.
Kelly said previously that the board has been working to make MSU a safe place after the Nassar scandal. The former physician sexually assaulted hundreds of female gymnasts and other athletes over decades undetected until he pleaded guilty in late 2017.
Other areas of concern involved the Office of Institutional Equity, which handles issues of sexual misconduct. By Oct. 1, universities must submit a form to the state budget office and House and Senate fiscal agencies and appropriations subcommittees. It attests that the university president and a board member have reviewed all the Title IX reports linked to employees.
The requirement carries a 10% funding reduction if a public university fails to submit the form by the deadline. It was aimed at preventing another sexual predator on a college campus. Trustees have raised questions and concerns about what is being certified in these reports.
Stanley's exit also follows fallout from the resignation of Sanjay Gupta, MSU's business school dean for 15 years. Gupta, who remains an accounting professor, left his post in August in response to concerns about his leadership and failure to report alleged sexual assault or relationship violence according to university guidelines. The Board of Trustees was informed of the provost's decision that resulted in Gupta's resignation and was supported by the president. But trustees learned about it after the fact.
In recent days, MSU faculty members and student government rallied behind Stanley with both groups approving a vote of no confidence in the board.
The faculty's resolution said trustees have "continued to destabilize the university" and "compounded their intransigence, intimidating faculty administrators through a retained law firm investigating the resignation of Sanjay Gupta which is both outside of the board's administrative purview and a violation of their Code of Ethics."
The MSU board hired outside lawyers to conduct two investigations. One of them involves legal questions around the Gupta situation, including when the duty to report sexual misconduct begins and ends. The other investigation is examining the processes of MSU's Office of Institutional Equity.
