Why did Rema Vassar resign? Allegations explored as MSU Board Chair steps down 

Michigan State University’s (MSU) Board of Trustees’ Chairwoman Rema Vassar resigned on March 3, 2024, after ethics and bylaws violation allegations emerged against her. Here’s what she wrote in a letter acquired by the Detroit News.

“Please accept my resignation as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University, effective upon the naming of a new Chair. I have been honored to serve as Chairwoman, and I look forward to continuing to support the University’s land grant mission as a Trustee.”

Vassar added how she would continue to advocate for education, especially for the marginalized, victimized, and ignored communities. As for the allegations, she said they were “punitive and over the top.”

As per CBS, she further added:

“I’m proud of my service on this Board, of the work that this Board has done, and I’ve been honored to serve as chair.”

Vassar is the first Black woman to lead the Board of the Michigan State University and assumed office in January 2021. As per Ballotpedia, her term would have ended in January 2029 if she hadn’t resigned recently.

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What are the allegations against Rema Vassar?

In October 2023, trustee Brianna Scott unveiled a series of allegations against Rema Vassar, including bullying administrators and fellow trustees, mishandling sensitive legal matters, and violating the Board’s code of ethics by flying on private jets of university donors.

Thereafter, the university hired Washington D.C.-based law firm Miller & Chevalier to investigate the accusations. On February 28, 2024, a 66-page report was submitted by the firm to the university.

The report revealed that Rema Vassar violated Board policy by purportedly accepting to “ride on a donor’s private jet” and “courtside tickets to an MSU basketball game” that occurred at the Madison Square Garden in Spring 2023. The report also alleged that Vassar unethically interfered with the same donor’s negotiations with the school “to buy trademark rights for his name, image, and likeness collective,” as mentioned by MLive.

The State News also stated that Vassar reportedly intervened in the release of the Nassar documents and acted alone “in negotiating the terms of a settlement with a former Broad College dean.”

The law firm also reportedly discovered that Rema Vassar and Trustee Dennis Denno joined hands with students to “publicly embarrass interim President Teresa Woodruff” and retaliate against MSU Faculty Senate chairman and neuroscience professor Jack Lipton for proposing Vassar’s resignation. As per MLive, there is audio evidence of Vassar allegedly asking students to “crucify” Woodruff.

So far, Vassar has denied most of the accusations and disagreed with “some of the findings and recommendations.” Here’s what she told the media, as per MLive:

“I provided 15 hours of interviews for this investigation. Many of the exchanges referenced in the report I was present for, and I can tell you that this report is incomplete and omits some very important information and key voices that could have provided a fuller and different picture of the circumstances.”

Meanwhile, on the advice of the law firm, MSU has reportedly referred Rema Vassar’s case to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for further review and a corrective course of action. Until then, she has been withdrawn from all committee appointments and Board activities. The Governor's office said that the allegations were "concerning" and they were monitoring the situation closely.

Trustee Denno’s removal from office has also been proposed. He told the press on Sunday that he denied “most of the allegations.” He also said that his words were taken out of context concerning conspiring with students and said he was trying to help Arab-American students “who felt marginalized by the administration and unsafe on campus,” per The Detroit News.

Not only that, but he came up with his own series of accusations. He alleged that previously, he raised ethics violations by three other trustees in a nine-page document, which were “ignored” by the Board.

“By not reviewing all allegations against all trustees, the objective was not to investigate board misconduct, their objective was to target Dr. Rema, and they were paid handsomely by taxpayer money and tuition dollars,” Denno alleged.

In the wake of Rema Vassar’s resignation, Trustee Dan Kelly has assumed the role of the chair of the Board of Trustees. The move comes in the wake of Kevin Guskiewicz assuming the role of President at MSU, as reported by MLive.

Meanwhile, as per State News, Brianna Scott has been censured for publicly releasing the letter of accusations against Rema Vassar.