EAST LANSING, Mich. — John Engler may be done at Michigan State, but he made sure he got the last word.
As we first reported last night, the former interim president sent a letter to trustees detailing his resignation, and it's caused quite the stir. But in the 11-page letter, there is no apology. Instead, it details all the improvements he's helped MSU make throughout his time there, which isn't sitting well on campus.
"You know his 11 pages tried to include all the improvements he's made, but really, most of them were suggestions that all of us survivors in the community made, so thank you for implementing what we said," said Kaylee Lorincz, who is a survivor of Nassar's sexual abuse.
In the 10th page, the letter reads: "The bottom line is MSU is a dramatically better, stronger, institution than it was one year ago." That's preceded by over 100 bullet points detailing several categories' worth of improvements Engler says he's made, something Lorincz said he shouldn't be patting himself on the back over.
"But really, I don't see much of an improvement from him toward this university. He really set everybody back," she said.
Engler also claims the board's move against him was political, stating: "The election of two new Democratic members and the appointment of a Democrat to replace trustee George Perles has created a new majority on the board."
New Trustee Kelly Tebay told me she's not surprised at what was on the letter.
"Unfortunately, there is no apology in it. It is the same John Engler that we've seen for the past year. There's no apology for his behavior or the things that he has said. He doesn't seem to get it and even in his letter, he doesn't seem to get it," Tebay said.
Tebay added it's clear Engler hasn't learned anything and said he's still "tone-deaf."
"I think it's kind of the almost perfect ending for him, still being tone-deaf to the very end and not understanding what he did was wrong and how he behaved was wrong."
Tebay hopes MSU can finally enter a new era.
"I'm sorry it took so long. I hear you. We are going to listen moving forward," she said.
Engler joins a long list of school officials who have either resigned or have been fired as part of the fall out of the Larry Nassar scandal.
