Michigan State University announced the University President Lou Anna Simon will be resigning her post. Her decision comes as former Michigan State doctor and US Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar received a prison sentence of 40 to 175 years for abusing women, Fox News reported. Nassar was facing seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual assault involving 160 girls and women over twenty years.

Simon was with MSU since the 1970s

Simon has been with Michigan State since the 1970s and was the university's president for 13 years. Simon wrote a resignation letter and said she was sorry that someone trusted so much was an evil person who harmed many under the guise of medical treatment.

Many of Nassar's victims claimed the school mishandled the complaints against Nassar, some which go back twenty years. Campus police first received a report involving Nassar in 2014, but the county prosecutor did not file charges.

Simon said she was originally going to retire in 2016, but the transition was changed because of the wake of allegations against Nassar, which surfaced after an Indianapolis Star story broke on how USA Gymnastics handled Sex Abuse claims against coaches and staff.

Simon originally had the full support of Michigan State's Board of Trustees, but eventually slowly lost support among them.

One member, Mitch Lyons, released a statement calling for her resignation. Three other members eventually joined in calling for Simon to resign. Simon even lost the support of Michigan's two U.S. Senators, Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow.

The NCAA announced it was launching an investigation into Michigan State University to determine if the university violated any rules.

Simon was under constant criticism and was even accused of trying to cover up the crimes committed by Nassar. When Nassar was fired, MSU released a letter from the law firm representing the school that said no MSU staff believed Nassar was a sexual predator before 2016.

Gymnastics coach also steps down

MSU gymnastics coach Kathie Klages stepped down in 2017, after being suspended over defending Nassar for many years.

In 2014, a Title IX probe concluded that Nassar was innocent of sexual allegations brought forward. Along with Simon leaving, MSU Professor Sue Carter is stepping down as the school's athletic director.

Simon and the board reached an agreement to put her raise of $150,000 into a scholarship fund and create a $10 million fund for mental health programs for sexual assault survivors. Simon was the 12th highest paid public university official in the United States in 2015. Simon has apologized many times to Nassar's victims.
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