MORGANTOWN, W.Va.
West Virginia University’s faculty demanded Wednesday that embattled President Mike Garrison quit over a master’s degree scandal involving the governor’s daughter, the second call for his resignation in 10 days.
The nonbinding resolution, approved 565-39 with 11 abstentions, came during a rare special meeting open to all faculty.
Last week, the 114-member Faculty Senate voted overwhelmingly to demand Garrison resign. Garrison has refused, and Gov. Joe Manchin and the WVU Board of Governors that Manchin largely appointed have continued to support him.
While both faculty votes are nonbinding, professors hope the latest no-confidence vote on Garrison’s leadership will be harder to ignore because more faculty members were involved.
“WVU cannot recover from this crisis under the leadership that created it. President Garrison must go,” professor Boyd Edwards said during the meeting known as the University Assembly, which hasn’t convened since 1977. “Effective leadership requires widespread credibility and respect. He enjoys neither.”
Garrison acknowledged the vote in a prepared statement, but reiterated he plans to stay in the job.
