'Reign of terror is over': John Engler to resign amid pressure from MSU board, deans
The Michigan State Board of Trustees reportedly has the votes to fire Interim President John Engler, if he doesn’t resign beforehand, at an emergency board meeting scheduled for Thursday. The Detroit Free Press reported the news Wednesday morning.
Update, 3:15 p.m. ET: Engler will resign, according to a follow-up report by the Free Press. He faced criticism from the board, the public and the university with 23 of the school’s top academic administrators, mostly deans, signing a letter to the board Wednesday demanding he be replaced.
The swift action is in answer to Engler’s comments that survivors of Larry Nassar’s abuse were enjoying the spotlight, only his latest remarks to receive heavy criticism.
Report: Board asks Engler to resign
At least five of the eight board members are prepared to vote in favor of firing Engler, per the Detroit Free Press. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 8 a.m., eight days after the board’s regular January meeting was held. It is the only thing on the agenda, published Wednesday morning.
Chairwoman Dianne Byrum asked Engler to resign before the meeting, according to the Free Press, and members are expected to name a replacement.
“John Engler’s reign of terror is over,” said board member Brian Mosallam, who has been pushing for Engler’s departure for nearly a year. “Michigan State University will be returned to its people.”
Mossallam told ESPN’s Dan Murphy “the university can no longer move forward with him at the helm.”
Engler took over as interim president Feb. 5, 2018, when Lou Anna Simon resigned due to criticism of her handling of the Nassar abuse allegations. She’s now facing criminal charges.
The former Michigan governor faced criticism upon his appointment and continuously dug himself deeper into a hole, including with comments made to the Free Press late last week.
Engler says survivors are enjoying spotlight
Engler told the Free Press in a wide-ranging editorial interview there are survivors of Nassar’s abuse “who’ve been in the spotlight who are still enjoying that moment at times, you know, the awards and recognition.”
It came at the end of a story about who would receive the benefits from the “Healing Assistance Fund” the board voted to reinstate during its first meeting of the year. Engler said that it’s not likely all of those abused would be able to dip into it to cover counseling costs, prompting the board chairwoman to advise he has no say in those matters.
In a separate story the newspaper ran, Engler said he does not support any more investigations into Michigan State University.
“We’re trying to get rid of lawyers and consultants now. We’re trying to get back to work,” he said.
It’s far from the first time Engler has faced warranted criticism and faced the firing board. He survived a motion to fire him over the summer.
The reality of the spotlight
Jan. 16 marks one year since Nassar’s sentencing began in a Michigan courtroom where 156 women delivered moving impact statements. Katie Strang spoke to three survivors for The Athletic about “the reality of what the past year has been like and what the world did not get to see.”
It starkly contrasts Engler’s ideas regarding what these women endured over the last year.
Sterling Riethman was one of the three to speak with Strang. The 25-year-old and her husband found out last April they were expecting their first child. Strang details what many may have wondered, but had not been heavily covered in terms of the lasting impact of Nassar’s abuse.
Riethman had always been told by Nassar she would have difficulty getting pregnant and that if she were able to carry a child, it would be painful and complicated. Looking back, it’s disturbing that, in addition to his horrific abuse, Nassar ingrained in survivors this sense of fear about a moment in their lives that should be filled with happiness and joy. Riethman went to see Nassar for her back, and yet he laid seeds of doubt about her future fertility. She wasn’t the only one.
Riethman coordinated to make a birth plan so she was only seen by female physicians, struggled to provide proper medical records since Nassar “had manipulated and distorted them throughout the years” and experienced heavy emotional stress when she went into labor early while her birth plan didn’t go as planned.
Arianna Guerrero, 16, told Strang she doesn’t go to bonfires or “typical teenage parties” and stopped attending public school due to trust issues. And Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to come forward to the Indianapolis Star, put it in simpler terms.
Engler references survivors enjoying their time in the spotlight.
You mean, like having to change the day I grocery shop so my 3 kids don't see a photo of their mom demonstrating what was done to her body?
Tell me more about how enjoyable this spotlight is. https://t.co/1QkeNer4Zc
— Rachael Denhollander (@R_Denhollander) January 12, 2019
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