On Wednesday, former Republican Gov. John Engler resigned as interim president of Michigan State University, ahead of his likely ouster by unhappy members of the school's board. Engler was appointed to the position last year after MSU's previous president, Lou Anna Simon, quit in the wake of the Larry Nasser scandal, but his own brief tenure has been marked by nonstop turmoil.
Matters, however, came to a head last week when Engler told the Detroit News that there were some Nassar survivors who were "in the spotlight who are still enjoying that moment at times, you know, the awards and recognition." Nassar, a physician at MSU and for USA Gymnastics, had been accused of sexually assaulting over 200 young women and girls under his care, and last year, he was sentenced to more than a hundred years in prison. Engler's comments infuriated his critics on the board, who had never wanted him for the job in the first place.
In fact, he'd been forced on the university in appalling fashion. After Simon's departure, the board had considered two candidates: Engler, and another former governor, Democrat Jim Blanchard, whom Engler had unseated in 1990, but Republicans in the state legislature threatened to yank millions in funding from the school if Engler didn't get the nod. Though the board had been deadlocked, with four Republican members and four Democrats, the Democrats ultimately caved in the face of this threat.
But Engler's cloak of protection was stripped from him in November, when Democrat Gretchen Whitmer won the job he’d once had: the governorship. That meant Republican lawmakers could no longer hold MSU's funding hostage. In addition, Democrats flipped two seats on the school's board, giving them a 6-2 majority.
As a result, when the board announced Wednesday morning that it had scheduled an emergency meeting for Thursday to address Engler's future in the wake of his recent remarks, Engler had to know he was doomed. The board even reportedly asked Engler to resign before firing him, and now he has complied.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated to reflect Engler’s resignation, confirming earlier reports that he would step down.