and, surprise!, he once again reveals himself to be a complete and utter arse. He is a complete embarrassment not just to MSU but to the entire state. How in the world can ANYONE support him?
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Michigan-State-Chief-Said/243656
The emails show that, in the days after Lorincz made her allegations, Engler asserted that Rachael J. Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse the doctor, was likely to get a “kickback” from her lawyer, John C. Manly, for her role in the “manipulation” of survivors.
"At least we know what really happened. The survivors now are being manipulated by trial lawyers who in the end will each get millions of dollars more than any of (sic) individual survivors with the exception of Denhollander who is likely to get (sic) kickback from Manley (sic) for her role in the trial lawyer manipulation.
Denhollander, who has emerged as a vocal survivors' advocate, was aghast, but not surprised. Engler has consistently focused on money, she said. “It is out of his comprehension that someone would do something for anything other than money and power. I am not getting kickbacks, ever.” She continued: “It shows all the more deeply his own mind-set toward sexual-assault survivors. The idea that he is going to be able to solve the problems of the school when this is what he says about sexual-assault survivors is absolutely ridiculous. Engler needs to go.”
As Lorincz’s story drew attention, pressure mounted on university trustees to weigh in. Brian Mosallam, a former Spartan football player and current board member, told an ESPN reporter that “if Kaylee Lorincz's story is correct, I am beyond disturbed. I'm disgusted."
This did not sit well with Viventi. In an email, which appears to be to Engler, Viventi suggested Mosallam had been disloyal. After praising Engler as “a very good coach/leader!”, she said, “I figured out that Mosallum (sic) didn’t learn how to be a team player.
“Instead of saying I’ll have to get the other side, or learn more, he says if it’s true, it’s disgusting,” Viventi wrote April 15. “His quarterback is under attack and the instinct is not to defend, but to go along. There’s an assumption that he believes it might be true, rather than an assumption that it couldn’t be true and therefore he’ll make a temporizing statement. So now that I figured out what’s bothering me, I can go back to thinking about all the other problems we have.”
The Chronicle shared the text of Viventi’s email with Mosallam, who objected to the premise that his job is to defend Engler.
“As a university trustee I have duties of loyalty and care to the institution,” Mosallam wrote in an email to The Chronicle. “To carry out these duties, I have oversight responsibilities of how the administration manages the institution. My job is to protect MSU, NOT the university president. And in a case like this one, where the university president's judgment, tone and conduct undermine the institution and its reputation, I have an obligation to protect MSU even if it is at the expense of the university president.”
Asked about Engler’s email regarding the motives of victims, Mosallam said it raises questions about whether the interim president can continue to lead the university.
“Engler needs to think long and hard whether he is the right person for this job,” Mosallam said. “Hopefully, the settlement will be finalized shortly. The focus now must be on institutional reform which requires our leadership to set a tone that reestablishes confidence and trust in our university. Our courageous survivors suffered immensely from sexual abuse. Rachael Denhollander is an inspiration for her courage and bravery to speak up, and the example of leadership that Engler should follow rather than criticize out of jealousy and spite. The idea that any human being, let alone the university's interim president, would question their motives or intentions, lacks empathy, but more startlingly, dignity. I have serious concerns about MSU's ability to turn the page while Engler remains the university's interim president, and strong reservations about whether he should continue in that role.”
And if that were not enough, he is also stonewalling FOIA requests on just about everything including inquiries about any internal investigations of top MSU leaders. He has illegally taken longer than allowed to respond about appeals to FOIA'd info. Makes you wonder what more there is to find under the rocks they are trying to bury things under.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com...e-ix-investigations-public-records/689970002/
Michigan State University has refused to release records that would show whether any of its deans or top administrators have been the subject of misconduct investigations. MSU also failed to meet a statutory deadline in an appeal of that decision.
The university said that any closed investigations were denied as an unwarranted invasion of privacy. Any open investigations were denied as potentially interfering with ongoing law enforcement investigations and as an unwarranted invasion of privacy. MSU did not specify whether no such records exist for some of the 38 individuals.
The appeal went to interim MSU President John Engler, as set in the university's FOIA policy. Both state law and the MSU policy give Engler 10 business days to respond.
That 10-day deadline expired on June 4.
On June 11, MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant apologized for the lack of response but said she wasn't sure when Engler would respond to the appeal.
Under the law, Engler had the option of requesting a 10-day extension for his response, but did not use it. His choices in responding to an appeal are to affirm the denial; overturn the denial and grant access to the records; or to partially grant and partially deny the request.
An attorney who represents the Lansing State Journal was critical of the university's approach.
"Public employees and officials have no privacy interest in records relating to their public jobs, including performance appraisals, disciplinary actions and complaints," Herschel Fink wrote in an email. "That has been Michigan law since a Supreme Court ruling in 1997.
"The purpose of FOIA is to make government, and its officials and employees, accountable through transparency. Sadly, the lessons of this sorry chapter in MSU’s history have still not been learned. The university continues to be anything but transparent. FOIA also requires public bodies to respond to appeals within 10 business days."
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Michigan-State-Chief-Said/243656
The emails show that, in the days after Lorincz made her allegations, Engler asserted that Rachael J. Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse the doctor, was likely to get a “kickback” from her lawyer, John C. Manly, for her role in the “manipulation” of survivors.
"At least we know what really happened. The survivors now are being manipulated by trial lawyers who in the end will each get millions of dollars more than any of (sic) individual survivors with the exception of Denhollander who is likely to get (sic) kickback from Manley (sic) for her role in the trial lawyer manipulation.
Denhollander, who has emerged as a vocal survivors' advocate, was aghast, but not surprised. Engler has consistently focused on money, she said. “It is out of his comprehension that someone would do something for anything other than money and power. I am not getting kickbacks, ever.” She continued: “It shows all the more deeply his own mind-set toward sexual-assault survivors. The idea that he is going to be able to solve the problems of the school when this is what he says about sexual-assault survivors is absolutely ridiculous. Engler needs to go.”
As Lorincz’s story drew attention, pressure mounted on university trustees to weigh in. Brian Mosallam, a former Spartan football player and current board member, told an ESPN reporter that “if Kaylee Lorincz's story is correct, I am beyond disturbed. I'm disgusted."
This did not sit well with Viventi. In an email, which appears to be to Engler, Viventi suggested Mosallam had been disloyal. After praising Engler as “a very good coach/leader!”, she said, “I figured out that Mosallum (sic) didn’t learn how to be a team player.
“Instead of saying I’ll have to get the other side, or learn more, he says if it’s true, it’s disgusting,” Viventi wrote April 15. “His quarterback is under attack and the instinct is not to defend, but to go along. There’s an assumption that he believes it might be true, rather than an assumption that it couldn’t be true and therefore he’ll make a temporizing statement. So now that I figured out what’s bothering me, I can go back to thinking about all the other problems we have.”
The Chronicle shared the text of Viventi’s email with Mosallam, who objected to the premise that his job is to defend Engler.
“As a university trustee I have duties of loyalty and care to the institution,” Mosallam wrote in an email to The Chronicle. “To carry out these duties, I have oversight responsibilities of how the administration manages the institution. My job is to protect MSU, NOT the university president. And in a case like this one, where the university president's judgment, tone and conduct undermine the institution and its reputation, I have an obligation to protect MSU even if it is at the expense of the university president.”
Asked about Engler’s email regarding the motives of victims, Mosallam said it raises questions about whether the interim president can continue to lead the university.
“Engler needs to think long and hard whether he is the right person for this job,” Mosallam said. “Hopefully, the settlement will be finalized shortly. The focus now must be on institutional reform which requires our leadership to set a tone that reestablishes confidence and trust in our university. Our courageous survivors suffered immensely from sexual abuse. Rachael Denhollander is an inspiration for her courage and bravery to speak up, and the example of leadership that Engler should follow rather than criticize out of jealousy and spite. The idea that any human being, let alone the university's interim president, would question their motives or intentions, lacks empathy, but more startlingly, dignity. I have serious concerns about MSU's ability to turn the page while Engler remains the university's interim president, and strong reservations about whether he should continue in that role.”
And if that were not enough, he is also stonewalling FOIA requests on just about everything including inquiries about any internal investigations of top MSU leaders. He has illegally taken longer than allowed to respond about appeals to FOIA'd info. Makes you wonder what more there is to find under the rocks they are trying to bury things under.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com...e-ix-investigations-public-records/689970002/
Michigan State University has refused to release records that would show whether any of its deans or top administrators have been the subject of misconduct investigations. MSU also failed to meet a statutory deadline in an appeal of that decision.
The university said that any closed investigations were denied as an unwarranted invasion of privacy. Any open investigations were denied as potentially interfering with ongoing law enforcement investigations and as an unwarranted invasion of privacy. MSU did not specify whether no such records exist for some of the 38 individuals.
The appeal went to interim MSU President John Engler, as set in the university's FOIA policy. Both state law and the MSU policy give Engler 10 business days to respond.
That 10-day deadline expired on June 4.
On June 11, MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant apologized for the lack of response but said she wasn't sure when Engler would respond to the appeal.
Under the law, Engler had the option of requesting a 10-day extension for his response, but did not use it. His choices in responding to an appeal are to affirm the denial; overturn the denial and grant access to the records; or to partially grant and partially deny the request.
An attorney who represents the Lansing State Journal was critical of the university's approach.
"Public employees and officials have no privacy interest in records relating to their public jobs, including performance appraisals, disciplinary actions and complaints," Herschel Fink wrote in an email. "That has been Michigan law since a Supreme Court ruling in 1997.
"The purpose of FOIA is to make government, and its officials and employees, accountable through transparency. Sadly, the lessons of this sorry chapter in MSU’s history have still not been learned. The university continues to be anything but transparent. FOIA also requires public bodies to respond to appeals within 10 business days."
