Michigan State University faculty are moving forward with a motion to take a vote of no confidence in the Board of Trustees in response to the board's decision to hire former Gov. John Engler as interim president.

On Saturday, members of the university's Academic Congress overwhelmingly approved a measure to hold the no confidence vote at the next meeting of the Faculty Senate, said Rob LaDuca, a professor and associate dean of Lyman Briggs College who sits on the university's steering committee.

Th steering committee is an intermediary between faculty and the board.

LaDuca said work is underway to schedule an emergency faculty senate meeting to hold the no confidence vote. If that vote passes, faculty would call on the board to step down immediately.

In Saturday's vote, 2,776 ballots were sent out by email.

Of those, 1,907 ballots were cast, with 87 percent of faculty voting in favor of holding the no confidence vote. Ten percent of faculty voted against the measure, and three percent abstained.

Engler was hired Wednesday after longtime President Lou Anna Simon resigned on Jan. 24 amid growing outcry over the university's handling of the Larry Nassar sex-abuse scandal.

The steering committee announced it would push for a no confidence vote if the board - at its meeting on Wednesday - decided to hire Engler. The eight-member board did so unanimously.

In a letter, the five at-large faculty who sit on the steering committee said they would push for a no confidence vote because they believe the board rushed to hire Engler and did not properly consult with the MSU community.

They also said Engler was the wrong choice because he lacks academic leadership experience, and that the interim president should have "significant experience devising and implementing programs to mitigate sexual harassment and sexual abuse."

The letter also said an effort should have been made to appoint a female candidate because "her lived experience would provide needed wisdom at this juncture."

"Furthermore, we suggested that a month-long or even semester-long process be taken to hire an Interim President, so that all members of the MSU community, from undergraduate students to graduate students to staff to faculty to deans, could provide input and guidance in a transparent fashion to the Board of Trustees."

More than 250 women have accused Nassar, a former sports medicine doctor employed by MSU and USA Gymnastics, of sexually assaulting them under the guise of medical treatment. He's been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on charges related to child pornography, and to 40-175 years on seven state criminal sexual abuse charges in Ingham County.

He's facing more charges in Eaton County related to victims he's accused of abusing at Twistars, a gymnastics club in Dimondale, Mich.