LANSING (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday named an ethics expert to Michigan State University’s governing board, filling a vacancy left by a trustee who resigned over the board’s decision to drop a promised independent review of Larry Nassar’s sexual assaults.

University of Houston law professor Renee Knake previously taught at Michigan State’s law school for a decade and still lives in East Lansing. Whitmer, a Michigan State alumna, said it was important to add someone who is “seeped in ethics” to the eight-member board as it continues to confront the Nassar scandal.

The appointment came more than five weeks after the resignation of trustee Nancy Schlichting, who said four trustees did not share the commitment by her and three other trustees to the independent investigation backed by Nassar’s victims, including the release of documents protected by attorney-client privilege. A criminal probe led to the conviction of Nassar’s ex-boss at the College of Osteopathic Medicine, while a former university president and ex-gymnastics coach have been ordered to stand trial.

Whitmer said Schlichting’s critique was “serious” and a reason she picked Knake, whom she described as a friend, despite “a lot” of people wanting to be considered. Some at the school proposed ex-Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, while groups allied with Whitmer pushed former elected officials and other political favorites. Former trustees and past candidates also expressed interest.