Former Youngstown State University President Leslie Cochran has penned a second letter criticizing University Trustees and the search process used to appoint Valley Congressman Bill Johnson as president.

This time around, Cochran addressed the letter to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and called on the governor to "dismiss all members of the Board of Trustees who failed to disclose their conflicts of interest and failed to recuse themselves during deliberations about Mr. Johnson and voting for him."

"All but one of the Board members ignored stated institutional values, accreditation standard and the important role of students in the process. By ignoring their obligation to the University, these Board members forfeited their right to serve as Trustees and, if not willing to resign, should be removed from the Board by the Governor," the letter reads.

Cochran also called on DeWine to rescind Johnson's appointment as president before he assumes the position on January 22, as well as name Molly Seals, the lone trustee who voted against Johnson's appointment as the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, with the charge to initiate an open search for a new president.

"Eight of the nine Board of Trustee members ... have failed to fulfill their responsibility to 'serve the public good.' They have taken actions contrary to accreditation standards, ignored stated institutional values, failed to disclose their conflicts of interests or to recuse themselves from voting," the letter reads.

Cochran goes on to state that a closed process disregarded students and accused the Board of "plac[ing] their personal goals above those of the University."

Cochran further states that the board did not follow standards from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) discussing Criterion 2, "Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct" and how it is the "most pertinent" of the five criteria for the matter at hand.

"In this case, there are areas which demonstrate the search process was flawed, and certainly would serve as a detractor, nationally, to the institution's image and those who might be interested in employment at YSU," the letter reads.

Cochran described the Trustees' actions as a "death blow" to the Mahoning Valley and compared it to the steel mill closings 50 years ago.

 Furthermore, Cochran questions whether or not there was a "coup" to select Johnson as president consisting of both insiders and outsiders to the campus.

"This adds an entirely different dimension and, again, is at the heart of accreditation: ethics and integrity. It builds upon the unwillingness of three, maybe as many as five Board members to fully disclose their conflicts of interest and their unwillingness to recuse themselves in committee deliberations and from voting for Mr. Johnson's appointment," the letter reads.

Cochran then brings up a claim from Board members that there was no conspiracy but questions whether or not the Board members were aware of the alleged unethical activities of their colleagues.

"Was the outcome of the search process predetermined? Was the entire search process as fiasco? ... And why didn't the Board follow a normal protocol for a closed search, which calls for finalist to visit campus for public interviews? ... Because they knew he would 'not pass' the test," the letter reads.

You can read the full letter below, and you can read Cochran's previous letter regarding this matter here.