CHARLESTON, W.Va.
West Virginia University President Mike Garrison said Friday he will resign in September to end the controversy surrounding the improper awarding of a master’s degree to the governor’s daughter.
“After careful reflection, I have determined I am the one person who is uniquely situated to stop this dialogue with my decision,” Garrison told the school’s Board of Governors. “It is the most difficult decision I have ever faced. But it is a clear decision with a clear outcome.”
The 39-year-old Garrison’s nine-month administration has been dogged from the start by the degree scandal and the sudden departure of former football coach Rich Rodriguez that triggered a $4 million lawsuit by WVU over a buyout clause in his contract.
Last week, after meeting privately with Garrison and key staff, the Board of Governors declared Garrison had done nothing wrong in the matter of Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch.
Though an independent panel found there was no evidence that Garrison interfered, it was on his watch last fall that WVU administrators added courses and grades to Bresch’s incomplete transcript, awarding her a 1998 executive master’s business of administration degree she’d been claiming on her resume.
The controversy has prompted newspapers and alumni to call for Garrison to resign. Also, a growing number of alumni have said they would not donate until Garrison left.
