MORGANTOWN - The West Virginia University Board of Governors continued to stand behind WVU President Michael Garrison on Friday, after Garrison gave the board a report on his plans to correct problems found after Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter was given a degree she did not earn.

WVU officials also said problems have been found with degrees for dozens of students in the same program as Bresch.

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WVU President Michael Garrison

"It's important to note that the Board believes there is no evidence whatsoever that President Garrison took any action to improperly influence the grant of an EMBA degree to Mrs. Heather Bresch," Goodwin said in a prepared statement.

While an independent panel found no evidence that Garrison directly interfered to get Bresch the degree, it said in its April 25 report that the presence of his key staff at the decision-making meeting created "palpable pressure."

Since then, many WVU faculty, students, staff, alumni and supporters have called for Garrison's resignation.

The board will review Garrison's report and meet again on June 6 for its regularly scheduled meeting, Goodwin said.

Garrison said the report "symbolizes our charge for the future - for the necessary rebuilding of trust, stability, faith and momentum."

"Nothing in this report seeks or should be construed to mitigate the recommendations of the Panel; rather it is offered to make sure that they are taken seriously and implemented," he said.

According to Garrison's report, two WVU officials who were at the meeting when it was decided to give Bresch the unearned degree - Bill Case and Alex Macia - have changed jobs.

Case, who was the school's communications director, was reassigned to WVU's Health Sciences Center on May 24. Chris Martin, vice president for advancement and marketing, will oversee WVU's public relations department with help from former school spokeswoman Becky Lofstead.

Macia no longer will be the school's general counsel, but will keep his job as vice president of legal services. Garrison said that change will happen no later than July 1.

John Fisher, who is retiring as the dean of WVU's law school, will become a senior adviser in Garrison's office. His duties will include assisting Craig Walker, Garrison's chief of staff.

MORGANTOWN - The West Virginia University Board of Governors continued to stand behind WVU President Michael Garrison on Friday, after Garrison gave the board a report on his plans to correct problems found after Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter was given a degree she did not earn.

WVU officials also said problems have been found with degrees for dozens of students in the same program as Bresch.

Board of Governors Chairman Steve Goodwin announced the board's continued support of the university's beleaguered president after meeting for three hours in executive session. The board is the only group that can fire Garrison.

"It's important to note that the Board believes there is no evidence whatsoever that President Garrison took any action to improperly influence the grant of an EMBA degree to Mrs. Heather Bresch," Goodwin said in a prepared statement.

While an independent panel found no evidence that Garrison directly interfered to get Bresch the degree, it said in its April 25 report that the presence of his key staff at the decision-making meeting created "palpable pressure."

Since then, many WVU faculty, students, staff, alumni and supporters have called for Garrison's resignation.

The board will review Garrison's report and meet again on June 6 for its regularly scheduled meeting, Goodwin said.

Garrison said the report "symbolizes our charge for the future - for the necessary rebuilding of trust, stability, faith and momentum."

"Nothing in this report seeks or should be construed to mitigate the recommendations of the Panel; rather it is offered to make sure that they are taken seriously and implemented," he said.

According to Garrison's report, two WVU officials who were at the meeting when it was decided to give Bresch the unearned degree - Bill Case and Alex Macia - have changed jobs.

Case, who was the school's communications director, was reassigned to WVU's Health Sciences Center on May 24. Chris Martin, vice president for advancement and marketing, will oversee WVU's public relations department with help from former school spokeswoman Becky Lofstead.

Macia no longer will be the school's general counsel, but will keep his job as vice president of legal services. Garrison said that change will happen no later than July 1.

John Fisher, who is retiring as the dean of WVU's law school, will become a senior adviser in Garrison's office. His duties will include assisting Craig Walker, Garrison's chief of staff.

Two officials, Provost Gerald Lang and business school Dean Stephen Sears, resigned after the panel's report gave them most of the blame for giving the degree to Bresch, a Mylan Inc. executive and Manchin's daughter. Lang and Sears will return to teaching this fall. They have been replaced by E. Jane Martin and William Trumbull, respectively, on an interim basis.

Also according to Garrison's report, WVU's College of Business and Economics has hired a recordkeeping manager, even though the April 25 report found no significant problems with recordkeeping at the business college.

WVU officials also will address policies that would allow for written documentation of academic inquiries, and address how and when professors are allowed to grant independent study and incomplete grades.

The university also will bring in consultants from peer institutions to review WVU's academic recordkeeping procedures, specifically within graduate levels.

The panel investigating the Bresch scandal concluded that discrepancies with her transcript were an isolated incident and not a sign of widespread problems with recordkeeping within the business college and the university.

However, according to Garrison's report, other students in Bresch's 1998 class graduated from the EMBA program with fewer than the required number of credit hours - sometimes as many as seven hours fewer than the required 48.

Jonathan Cumming, assistant vice president for graduate education, told the Board of Governors on Friday that discrepancies have been found on about 70 degrees - or 10 percent of the students who have gone through the executive masters of business administration program.

Cumming said most of the discrepancies involve incomplete grades given to students. He said the transcripts in question date from the late 1990s and early 2000, when the college switched from paper to electronic records.

English professor Mark Brazaitis, one of the leaders of the anti-Garrison group Mountaineers for Integrity and Responsibility, said Garrison's plan is like "a big solution for a small problem."

The solution to the problem is to get Garrison out of office, he said.

"This is an administration that is trying to skim by on the skin of its teeth," he said. "We're all hopeful this comes to an end quickly. We're all tired of this circus."

To contact staff writer Veronica Nett, use e-mail or call 348-5113.