Photo by Scott McCloskey West Virginia University President Mike Garrison explains in his office why the university needs to move beyond the Heather Bresch degree scandal.

MORGANTOWN — As West Virginia University graduates walk the aisle today and Sunday to receive their diplomas, WVU President Mike Garrison believes it’s in the best interest of the university’s faculty — those who most want him gone from his job — that he remain at his post.

In an interview this week with The Intelligencer, Garrison said he will in June propose a 7.3-percent pay increase for faculty and staff, as well as work to make good on promises of a day care center and wellness initiatives for university employees in the coming months.

Garrison made his remarks prior to a meeting open to all 1,816 members of the University Assembly on Wednesday, during which time members voted 565-39 to call for Garrison’s resignation following the Heather Bresch degree scandal. The vote has no binding effect.

It followed a May 5 no-confidence vote of Garrison from the WVU Faculty Senate. That vote was 77-19.

Many faculty members initially were opposed to Garrison’s appointment as WVU president last year, calling him a “political appointment,” and their most recent objections relate to his handling of how Heather Bresch — chief operating officer of Mylan Inc. — received a master’s degree in 1998 without completing degree requirements.

An examination of the relationships between those involved paints an interesting picture.

? Bresch is the daughter of West Virginia Gov.