DETROIT _ Michigan State University interim President John Engler must step aside immediately, board member Brian Mosallam said Friday morning.
"It has become abundantly clear to me that this crisis will not truly settle until John Engler steps down as interim president," he said in a statement emailed to the media. "Unfortunately, and with great regret, John Engler's tenure as interim president has continued the bleeding rather than stem it.
"I no longer believe that John Engler's presence on this campus will allow Michigan State University to move forward. We need leadership that sets a tone of empathy and compassion towards our courageous survivors, and reembraces them as important members of our Spartan community. John Engler simply can no longer do that. And for these reasons, John Engler should step down immediately as this university's interim president."
Mosallam, a former MSU football player, is the first board member to call for Engler to leave. Mosallam, a Democrat, has been outspoken about MSU's failures in how they handled the Larry Nassar case and sexual assault on campus. He has previously issued a lengthy proposal on how to change the university.
Mosallam's call for change came two days after the Detroit Free Press and the Chronicle of Higher Education published a series of emails that included Engler's top aide _ Carol Viventi _ accusing Mosallam of not doing a good enough job of protecting Engler. The Free Press obtained the emails from a source within the Engler administration. The Chronicle of Higher Education first obtained the emails under a Freedom of Information Act request.
"I figured out that Mosallum (sic) didn't learn how to be a team player," Viventi wrote. " Instead of saying I'll have to get the other side, or learn more, he says if it's true, it's disgusting. His quarterback is under attack and the instinct is not to defend, but to go along. There's an assumption that he believes it might be true, rather than an assumption that it couldn't be true and therefore he'll make a temporizing statement. So now that I figured out what's bothering me, I can go back to thinking about all the other problems we have."
The emails also contained Engler's assertion that Rachael Denhollander _ the first person to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual assault _ was getting kickbacks from trial attorneys involved in lawsuits against MSU.
"John Engler's most recent comments questioning the motives and intentions of our courageous survivors, and specifically, Rachael Denhollander, a survivor of Larry Nassar's horrific sexual abuse, who he accused of taking "kickbacks" were disgraceful and unfit for a university president tasked with rebuilding trust and confidence in this institution," Mosallam said in his statement. " Our courageous survivors all came forward out of their own bravery and courage rather than a manipulative game. Such a suggestion otherwise is disgusting. I fear that this most unfortunate tone has sent a chilling message across our campus to survivors of relationship violence and sexual misconduct."
Denhollander tweeted support Friday morning for Mosallam, while calling for other board members to join him.
"Standing alone is never easy, but vital to leading and protecting people and institutions," Denhollander said in her tweet. "There is no honor in everyone agreeing to support the wrong things."
Mosallam joins a several lawmakers who have made similar calls.
"The senator did not believe he was the right choice to lead MSU when he was appointed and doesn't believe he is the right choice now," U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow spokesman Matt Williams said Thursday night. Stabenow, D-Mich., is an MSU alumna.
Also calling for Engler to step down were state Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, and state Sen. Margaret O'Brien, R-Portage.
Jones said he was at his daily breakfast with constituents at the Grand Ledge A&W Thursday morning when he saw a story about Engler claiming that Rachael Denhollander _ the first person to publicly accuse Larry Nassar, a former MSU doctor, of sexually assaulting students _ would likely get kickbacks from attorneys involved in lawsuits against the university.
"And I was very angry," Jones said. "Once again, John Engler has embarrassed Michigan State University. He was hired to try to heal the university, to end the culture of silence and to make sure people are reported so we don't have another Larry Nassar situation. And instead, he is constantly belittling victims. It absolutely is embarrassing to the university. He has not improved the image of MSU, he is actually hurting the image of MSU, and I am hearing that loud and clear from my constituents."
He went on to say Engler should step down "before he does more damage to the image of MSU."
O'Brien _ who helped draft a variety of bills aimed at strengthening victim's rights _ also called for Engler to leave, according to media reports.
The calls came one day after the Detroit Free Press and the Chronicle of Higher Education published an email from Engler to his top adviser accusing Denhollander of likely getting kickbacks from trial attorneys.
The email chain started with Nassar victim Kaylee Lorincz accusing Engler during a board meeting of offering her $250,000 in a private meeting to settle her lawsuit against the university.
That weekend, Viventi emailed board members, saying she wanted to set the record straight. She claimed Lorincz's statements were totally inaccurate and the meeting was set up by Lorincz in order to "set up" the school.
She then went on to say the trial lawyers were manipulating the survivors.
That seemed to strike a chord with Engler.
"Thank you for your strong defense," Engler wrote in a 9:23 a.m. April 15 email. "It is deeply appreciated. At least we know what really happened. The survivors now are being manipulated by trial lawyers who in the end will each get millions of dollars more than any of (sic) individual survivors with the exception of Denhollander who is likely to get (sic) kickback from Manley (sic) for her role in the trial lawyer manipulation. "
The reference was to John Manley, Denhollander's lawyer.
Engler took over as interim president after Lou Anna Simon stepped down under extreme pressure over her handling of Nassar, including being in charge when he was cleared by an MSU investigation in 2014 of any wrongdoing.
Nassar, the MSU doctor accused of molesting dozens of female students and athletes, has been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on child pornography charges and is in a maximum-security federal prison in Tucson, Ariz. He also faces a 40- to 175-year sentence issued in Ingham County and a 40- to 125-year sentence from Eaton County for sexual assaults. Those sentences will not begin until he finishes the federal sentence.
