MSU Names Interim President After Engler Resigns

EAST LANSING, MI— Michigan State University has named a new interim president after former governor John Engler, who was brought in to help recover from the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, resigned amid public backlash.

The Board of Trustees named Dr. Satish Udpa as the new interim president Thursday, WDIV reported. He's the former Dean of Engineering.

Udpa serves Michigan State University as the Executive Vice President for Administration and University Distinguished Professor. He served as the Dean of the College of Engineering and Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at MSU before his current appointment. Prior to joining MSU in 2001, Dr. Udpa was the Whitney Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State University. He was on the faculty at Colorado State University prior to his stint at Iowa State University.

Engler abruptly resigned, but made no mention of the Nassar scandal in his 11-page letter stepping down. He joins many other ousted former leaders who had ties to the decades long scandal that unfolded.

Last week Engler told The Detroit News that Nassar’s victims had been “enjoying” the “spotlight.”

Nassar is serving decades-long prison sentences for sexually assaulting patients and possessing child pornography.

Read the full story here.

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