Dr. Samuel Stanley Jr. announced his resignation as president of Michigan State University in a video announcement on Thursday, Oct. 13.

Stanley, who was president of Stony Brook University from 2009 to 2019, did not give a specific reason for his resignation.

“I … have lost confidence in the action of the current Board of Trustees, and I cannot in good conscience continue to serve this Board as constituted,” Stanley said.

The announcement comes after several board members had already called on Stanley to resign following concerns over alleged mishandling of Title IX reports at Michigan State. 

The Michigan State Legislature instituted new guidelines at public schools that require the president and a board member to review every Title IX accusation and submit a certificate to the government. The laws were created in the wake of the school’s national sexual abuse scandal involving Dr. Larry Nassar.

In September, board member Pat O’Keefe suggested that Stanley had signed off on misleading Title IX reports, an accusation Stanley has denied.

Dianne Byrum, chairwoman of the board, has vocally supported Stanley during the last few months. The Faculty Senate also distanced itself from the board in a 55-4 no-confidence vote earlier this month.

Stanley’s last day will be Jan. 11, 2023. His contract would have expired Aug. 1, 2024.

Stanley took the Michigan State job in Aug. 2019 after the university had already seen two presidents lost during the Nassar scandal. 

In his decade as Stony Brook’s president, Stanley helped the school become one of the nation’s top colleges for social mobility and improved the graduation rate to an all-time high.