David Jesse and Kathleen Gray | Detroit Free Press

RJ Wolcott / Lansing State Journal

Michigan State University will name former Michigan Gov. John Engler to be interim president, multiple sources with knowledge of discussions told the Free Press.

Kevin Allen, Blackford Capital

Engler, a Republican, is a MSU graduate. He is expected to be named to the position at a special 9 a.m. MSU board meeting Wednesday.

Also coming on board is another former Michigan governor, Jim Blanchard, a Democrat, who will be named as a senior adviser. Blanchard is also a MSU graduate.

Board members believe that by adding both Engler and Blanchard - former leaders of both major political parties in Michigan - any concerns about politics will be muted.

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Engler will be in place while the board conducts a nationwide search for the replacement to Lou Anna Simon, who resigned last week in the fallout of the Larry Nassar case.

She made the announcement hours after a judge sentenced Nassar to 40 to 175 years in prison as part of a plea deal on seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving more than 156 girls and women over more than two decades.

She said in her resignation statement there was no cover-up at MSU.

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"The survivors’ accounts are horrific. They are tragic, heartbreaking, and personally gut-wrenching. I take solace that many victims have indicated that the opportunity to confront Nassar is a step toward healing. I am proud of the exceptional work of the Special Victims Unit led by Lieutenant Andrea Munford with the steadfast leadership of Chief Dunlap. I am proud of my support of their work even though the results have been very painful to all who watched," Simon said.

After Simon resigned, there were a number of names raised to the board as possible interim presidents, including Engler, Blanchard and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

In a tweet shortly after Simon resigned, Granholm said it wouldn't be her.

"Not me, but I’m confident they will find a strong, clear leader. For the sake of current and future Spartans, let’s hope so."

Also raised as a possible interim choice was former Grand Valley State University President Mark Murray, who also served as president of Meijer, Inc. Murray told board members he wasn't interested, sources said.

Blanchard and Murray were all mentioned as a possible MSU president when Peter McPherson left in 2004 and Simon was promoted from provost to president.

But as MSU graduates and top executives of a large bureaucracy, Engler and Blanchard are natural picks, and will appease both the Republicans and Democrats on the MSU board of trustees, which has a 4-4 partisan split.

Engler, 69, has been a longtime political presence in Michigan. He was the youngest person elected to the state House of Representatives in 1970 at the age of 22, where he served until 1979, leaving after winning a seat in the state Senate and serving as the iron-fisted Senate Majority Leader.

He scored a razor thin victory over then incumbent Governor Blanchard in 1990 and stayed in the state's top job through the end of 2002. After leaving the job, he moved to Washington where he served as president and CEO of the National Manufacturers Association and then the head of the Business Roundtable, a national organization of business leaders. He retired last year and has a home in Laingsburg with his wife Michelle. His triplet daughters have all recently graduated from college.

After losing his reelection bid in 1990, Blanchard became the U.S. Ambassador to Canada under President Bill Clinton and later became a partner in the Washington DC-based law firm of DLA Piper. He ran for governor again in 2002, but lost to then Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, who would then go on to win two terms as Michigan's governor.

The choice was applauded by both politicians and people who have worked with the men.

"John Engler is the right choice to be Michigan State University's interim president," said Speaker of the House Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt Township. "He is a strong leader with a proven track record of reform, and the school needs someone who is able to come in from the outside, stand up to the status quo and make immediate changes."

David Doyle was the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party while Engler was governor. While he was surprised that Engler was the choice, given the partisan make-up of the board, "I think he'll do a great job."