John Engler at Friday's meeting.
It was the last question that did him in.
MSU President John Engler (Photo: Screen grab from Detroit News video)
In the Detroit News, Kim Kozlowski crafts a tick-tock story of John Engler's downfall as interim president of Michigan State University. The former governor arrived with a three-part job to help his alma mater, roiled by the Larry Nassar scandal:
The hope was that Engler, a well-connected politician and lawyer, could protect MSU's interests in Lansing, deal with lawsuits filed against the university by Nassar's accusers, and help the university put the scandal behind it.
He nailed numbers one and two, but the last was derailed by repeated statements that angered and horrified alumni, students and especially the women Nassar assaulted. And the last straw came at the end of an hour-long meeting with the News' editorial board on Jan. 11:
He was asked about the challenges whoever succeeded him would face as president. His reply:
"It's very tough," Engler said. "You’ve got people, they are hanging on and this has been … there are a lot of people who are touched by this, survivors who haven’t been in the spotlight."
"In some ways they have been able to deal with this better than the ones who’ve been in the spotlight who are still enjoying that moment at times, you know, the awards and recognition. And it’s ending. It’s almost done.”
Six days later, with the board of trustees poised to bring the ax down, Engler resigned.
