Embattled West Virginia University President Mike Garrison tomorrow will face his second vote of no confidence in as many weeks, this time from the 1,800-member faculty of the state's flagship university.

WVU's faculty will consider six resolutions at a rare assembly, including the same motion calling for Mr. Garrison's resignation that the faculty senate approved last week by a four-to-one margin.

That vote was sparked by an investigative panel's report that concluded top WVU administrators issued a master of business administration degree to Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch that she did not earn. Ms. Bresch, the daughter of West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, is a longtime friend and former business associate of Mr. Garrison.

Faculty members said tomorrow's gathering is believed to be the first special assembly called for by WVU faculty in more than 30 years. The meeting comes as the university prepares for commencement exercises this weekend. Mr. Garrison is expected to maintain a low profile during what is the highlight of the university's academic year. Students are considering protesting Mr. Garrison's role in sullying the school's reputation, a note struck repeatedly at last week's faculty senate meeting.

Mr. Garrison will not be speaking at any of the commencement ceremonies but will be present at a few of the events, university spokeswoman Amy Neil said yesterday in an e-mail. "It's important for everybody to note ... graduation is not about me," Ms. Neil quoted Mr. Garrison as saying.

Following the senate's 77-19 no confidence vote May 5, Mr. Garrison reiterated that he does not intend to step down, something he repeated yesterday at another faculty senate meeting. He also received the support of Steve Goodwin, chairman of the board of governors, the body with the power to remove Mr. Garrison.

The board's confidence in Mr. Garrison "will do nothing to calm the concerns of faculty," said Jonathan Knight of the American Association of University Professors.

"When the faculty do rise in serious opposition to the leadership of the president, that at a minimum ... points to serious problems in the governance of the institution and they should be given serious attention by the governing board," Mr. Knight said.

Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, said the pending faculty-wide vote is "extraordinary" but not unexpected, given the circumstances under which WVU awarded the degree retroactively to Ms. Bresch in October, nine years after she claimed to have earned it.

"The legitimacy of credentials is the most precious thing that a university controls. It involves something sacred," he said. "It is by no means surprising that faculty is taking this as seriously as they are."

The investigative panel's April 23 report offered a detailed, inside look at how far officials were willing to go for Ms. Bresch, inventing explanations, falsifying her records and repeatedly misleading the public. The panel found WVU administrators falsified Ms. Bresch's transcript to make it appear she earned the degree, giving her credit for courses she did not take or pay for and awarding her grades "simply pulled from thin air."

Following the report, Provost Gerald Lang and business school Dean R. Stephen Sears resigned from their administrative posts, effective June 30. Both will remain on the faculty.

Mr. Nassirian said the seriousness of the panel's findings was unprecedented.

"It hasn't happened, to the best of my recollection, where such a high-visibility, flagship institution was confronted with circumstances even remotely like this," he said.

In 2006, Harvard University President Lawrence Summers resigned a week before an expected vote of no confidence by the Ivy League school's faculty. The previous year, Mr. Summers' comments that gender differences between the sexes might explain the few women in science and math prompted a 218-185 no confidence vote by Harvard's arts and sciences faculty.

In addition to the proposal calling for Mr. Garrison's resignation, the faculty will consider five other proposals at tomorrow's meeting. They include two concerning the composition of the board of governors, one that would revise the way the provost and other top positions are filled, and two dealing with intimidation.

One of these proposals is sponsored by professors Parviz Famouri and Dallas Branch, who support Mr. Garrison. Their measure seeks immediate disciplinary action against faculty members who make threats against WVU employees, the board of governors or the governor. Mr. Branch said it is a response to signs threatening board members and Mr. Manchin that appeared on campus last week.

"You can't take something like this as a joke," Mr. Branch said. "I don't think we as a faculty should tolerate that kind of behavior, especially in light of things that have happened at other places like Virginia Tech."

The second would establish an outside panel that would be a "safe zone" where faculty, staff and students could report incidents of intimidation, said biochemistry professor William Wonderlin, the sponsor of the proposal. One faculty member who called for Mr. Garrison's resignation at last week's senate meeting cited "a profound fear of reprisal" at WVU's Health Sciences Center, where Mr. Wonderlin teaches.

"A lot of people are feeling a lot of pressure not to speak openly," Mr. Wonderlin said. "We need to have a zero tolerance for intimidation."