Michigan State University board chair disagrees with President’s Stanley’s removal

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - The chair of the Michigan State University board of trustees said President Samuel Stanley should not be fired.

Report: MSU President Stanley could be fired

Dianne Byrum told News 10 in response to reports Stanley has been given an ultimatum to resign or be fired tomorrow. Byrum said the board members have “undermine and second-guessed” Stanley. She said this is not how the board of an institution of higher education should act.

Students, like Emily Bardwell, said she agrees with Byrum.

“Unsettling. Just cause it’s nice to have things figured out at this point in the school year, but you can’t always have that,” said Bardwell.

MSU’s spokesperson, Emily Guerrant, confirmed that the Board of Trustees and Stanley are discussing his contract. But the university is denying a Detroit Free Press report states that the board gave Stanley an ultimatum.

“They’ll come to an agreement, about the length of time that President Stanley is going to be at Michigan state university that is the prevue of the board they do negotiate the contract of any sitting university president at the time,” said Guerrant.

With this issue so early into the school year, Bardwell said they’re puzzled on exactly what is happening at their university.

“I didn’t really know what was going on behind the scenes and so when I heard about it from a news article, that wasn’t directly from MSU, more like an outside source,” said Bardwell “Just to sum it up, surprised and definitely not expecting it.

The board chair is telling the other trustees to apologize and quote “focus on their proper role as trustees of this amazing institution.”

If Stanley resigns or is fired, MSU would be looking for its fourth president in the last five years.

Board of Trustees member Dan Kelly released the following statement Monday night:

Board of Trustees member Melanie Foster released the following statement Monday night:

“I am the longest serving member on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, and Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee which, among other duties, is responsible for the annual evaluation of the president’s performance.
President Stanley’s experience as a Harvard trained epidemiologist helped lead the university through unprecedented challenges related to COVID. During that time my committee advocated for more financial accountability. As a result the university’s first chief financial officer was hired over a year ago and is bringing transparency and accountability to the budget and financial reporting processes. The investment office continues to strongly out perform benchmarks and create value. President Stanley has built an effective execuitive staff, and the university has achieved unprecedented accomplishments in enrollment, fund raising, health care partnerships, P3 partnerships, research funding, and strategic planning-presenting truly and exciting road map for the university’s future.
Unfortunately, there is discourse among the Trustees concerning the president’s performance. For reasons I have just cited, I believe President Stanley should be allowed to complete his service at MSU per the terms of his contract. Many faculty, university organizations and students have written advocating their support and calling for Board transparency in this process. The Board needs to listen to our constituents.”
Trustee Melanie Foster

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