Michigan State University's board named Satish Udpa, the school's executive vice president for administrative services, its new interim president on Thursday, replacing John Engler.

Engler resigned Wednesday, hours after the board scheduled a special Thursday morning meeting to fire him. In his resignation letter, Engler said he would stay until next Wednesday but the board on Thursday accepted his resignation effective immediately.

The move to accept Engler's resignation and name Udpa his replacement was unanimous by the seven board members present. Trustee Melanie Foster, an Engler supporter, was not at the meeting.

"A wrong has been righted today," board member Kelly Tebay said emotionally, nearly in tears. "I'm sorry it took so long. Hopefully, we restored some faith in your board. We thought it would send a strong message if we made the move today and we wanted Upda to start immediately."

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Udpa, 68, made only brief remarks, saying he was excited to get to work.

"I recognize it’s a challenge but at the end of the day this is a job that needs to get done," he said. "We can’t continue to operate the way we’ve been for the past two years.”

Engler had been under fire for months for a combative relationship with dozens of women who were victims of sexual assaults by former MSU doctor Larry Nassar.

As the scandal was breaking last year, Udpa sent a letter to various members of the campus community. Referring to the victims, it said, in part, ""We share their anguish and our first obligation is to help them recover and become whole. Our collective will to be a force of good has to prevail.”

On Thursday, he said he would not be a candidate for the permanent president's position.

Udpa has held the post of executive vice president for administrative services since 2013. Before that, he was dean of the school of engineering for seven years.

In his current position, he is in charge of the university's human resources department; IT department; facilities department; office of planning and budgets; the land management office and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, a new facility being built that will allow scientists to study rare isotopes.

His wife, Lalita Udpa, is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU.

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"I'd like to thank Satish for being willing to step into this fiasco," board member Brianna Scott said.

Many trustees said Udpa brings integrity back to the position. In their comments, they made not-so-veiled references to Engler, who was frequently accused of saying the wrong thing with regard to Nassar's victims.

"Values matter," said board member Nancy Schlichting. "I'm so excited to work with Satish in his new role. He is a healer. I think he will bring good decision-making skills."

Board member Brian Mosallam, who tried in June to fire Engler, said a new day had arrived on campus.

"On this day, our survivors no longer have to go to bed thinking no one would listen to them," he said. "Today, the healing can begin.

"Satish is a person of integrity. He has broad-based support across the campus."

The move drew rave reviews from Nassar survivors.

"I feel like there was a huge weight off my shoulders," survivor Kaylee Lorincz said. "I can't wait to see where it goes from here."

Board members polled various groups across campus to see what they wanted in an interim president. Udpa's name came up repeatedly as someone who was trusted, listened well and made calm decisions.

Normally, a board would elevate a provost — the No. 2 person at a university who runs the day-to-day academic operations — but at MSU, June Youatt has also been trapped in controversy. She was involved in a 2015 review of former Dean William Strampel and gave him good marks, despite MSU knowing for more than a decade of complaints that Strampel had been sexually harassing students. Strampel is currently facing criminal charges.

The board is currently conducting a search for a new permanent president. Board members hope to have that person in place this summer.

Several board members said the move Thursday would help them attract better candidates.

"The less MSU is in the news for negative events, the better," Mosallam said. "The quieter the board is, the better."

Schlichting, who is the former CEO of Henry Ford Health Systems, agreed. She said getting rid of Engler was the needed first step.

"I had worries about how that transition would be," she said, adding a new president is needed to come into a calm situation, noting Engler didn't make things calm. "I could see it visibly. When he came into a room, it just changed. The tension went up. The openness ended.

"This (MSU president) is not a normal job," she continued. "Not only do we need a good administrator, but we really need someone who is interested in changing culture."

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj