Several prominent West Virginia University alumni are calling on the school's Board of Governors to remove president Mike Garrison.

In a letter to the board, the alumni say the board needs to take a leadership role and find a new president. They also want the board to approve an independent review of the university to determine how it has gotten into "a sorry state."

Last week, the board said that it had determined that Garrison did nothing to influence the awarding of a master's degree to the governor's daughter that she did not earn.

Alumni signing the letter included Arizona Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick Jr. and Peter Kalis, chairman and global managing partner of the Pittsburgh law firm of K&L Gates.