EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University will once again help cover therapy bills for the survivors of Larry Nassar's abuse.
The board of trustees has voted to re-establish the healing fund that interim-President John Engler shut down last month.
At the time, Engler said the money would be rolled into the $500 million fund used to settle the lawsuits filed by the survivors. He said it would reduce the amount MSU had to borrow. Survivors were furious.
On Wednesday, the board responded.
"I stand in support of survivors and also students and faculty who have repeatedly reported instances of harassment and have received no response," one faculty member said during individual presentations before the board.
The room was packed as the board of trustees met for the first time of the year.
There were some new faces: trustees Kelly Tebay, Nancy Schlichting, and Brianna Scott, all who were a part of the unanimous vote to start the new fund for survivors -- something many there thought should have stayed in place.
"It's not necessarily something to pat yourself on the back for. All you're doing is reinstating the thing that you did before. It should have never gone away, to begin with. While it's good that it's back, I don't think it's a good measure of progress," said Cody Mejeur, a Ph.D. student at MSU.
While the details about the fund were not immediately clear, newly appointed chair Dianne Byrum said it was an easy decision.
"People believe that it was the moral thing to do. The difficulty is always going to be in the details and the minutia," she said.
Many at the meeting said they hope the new year and new faces will bring positive change to MSU.
"The way the board operates is problematic. There's a huge cultural shift that's needed," said Jordan Lindsay, of Graduate Employees Union.
"I'm hopeful that the new members will actually be committed to making changes and making progress and doing more than lip service. That was what we had with the previous board," Mejeur said.
FOX 47 News will keep you updated on when MSU sets the terms and conditions of the new fund.
The trustees also elected their new officers on Wednesday. They chose Byrum to be the chair by a 5-3 vote over Brian Mosallam. Dan Kelly was elected vice chair.
