The dean of West Virginia University's business school announced his resignation today, becoming the second high-ranking administrator to step down in the wake of a report highly critical of university officials for awarding a graduate degree to Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch that she did not earn.

The departure of R. Stephen Sears, dean since he was hired from Texas Tech University in 2005, was announced in a statement issued by the university this morning. Provost Gerald Lang, WVU's chief academic officer, announced his resignation yesterday in a memo distributed to university deans.

Left: Gerald Lang, provost. Right: R. Stephen Sears, business school dean.

The resignations take effect June 30.

Mr. Sears recommended awarding a retroactive master's of business administration degree in October to Ms. Bresch, the daughter of West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin and a long-time friend and former business associate of WVU President Michael Garrison. Her boss at Cecil-based Mylan, Chairman Milan Puskar, is WVU's biggest benefactor.

Mr. Garrison issued a statement this afternoon apologizing for his administration's "failures" in the growing scandal.

"I accept full and total responsibility for failures that led to the award of unearned credits and grades to a former student," he said in a statement released publicly. "I am personally very sorry that this situation has occurred."

He said he accepted the resignations of Mr. Lang and Mr. Sears for their decisions in the matter, stating that he played no role "either directly or indirectly" in granting the degree.

A five-person panel appointed by Mr. Lang and the faculty senate concluded last week that WVU officials made a hasty, "seriously flawed" decision in awarding the degree, reflecting "failures of process and failures of leadership" at the state's flagship university. They said administrators falsified Ms. Bresch's transcript to make it look like she finished the M.B.A. degree by adding courses to her record that she did not take and by entering grades "simply pulled from thin air."

The Oct. 15 decision was made after the Post-Gazette made a routine call to the registrar to confirm Ms. Bresch's academic credentials on Oct. 11. The registrar's office told the paper it had no record of her completing the degree.

Panel members said Mr. Garrison's office "reacted immediately" after Ms. Bresch called him and Craig Walker, Mr. Garrison's chief of staff, to dispute the registrar's statement. She stated she had earned the degree in December 1998.

WVU records reviewed by the Post-Gazette indicated, however, that Ms. Bresch was 22 credits shy of completing the 48-credit hour program.

The panel's report has prompted calls for the resignations of Mr. Lang and Mr. Sears as well as Mr. Garrison, whose appointment as president last year was widely criticized by WVU faculty. One prominent alumnus also is seeking the resignation of Board of Governors Chairman Steven Goodwin, who headed the search committee that recommended Mr. Garrison to lead WVU.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.