Michigan State Faculty Members Vote No Confidence in Board of Trustees

Michigan State faculty issued a vote of no confidence in the MSU board of trustees on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com's Dan Murphy.

Board members cannot be forced from their positions based on the vote since they are serving eight-year terms and were chosen by the public, but the faculty voted 61-4 in favor of no confidence.

One of the voters' biggest concerns was the appointment of former Michigan Gov. John Engler as interim president. He will serve in the role after Lou Anna Simon resigned as president in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal.

Per Murphy, the faculty wanted an interim president choice with "more academic experience and more experience in dealing with sexual assault issues."

Nassar was recently sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with children under the age of 16, and he was sentenced to another 40 to 125 years in prison on three further counts.

The 54-year-old Nassar used his status as a physician at Michigan State and for USA Gymnastics to sexually assault girls and women under the guise of proper medical care.

There was significant fallout at MSU following the Nassar scandal, as Simon resigned and athletic director Mark Hollis announced his retirement.

An ESPN Outside the Lines article by Paula Lavigne and Nicole Noren published on Feb. 1, it was reported that multiple Michigan State football and basketball players had been accused of sexually assaulting women during the respective tenures of Mark Dantonio and Tom Izzo.

Engler called the report "a sensationalized package of reporting," according to Murphy.