in july 1858, charges were brought against daily by a. m. murphy. he was accused of being incompetent, not paying debts, plagiarism, immorality, and not being a proper disciplinarian. on july 13, 1858, the eight members of the board of trustees met to consider the charges, but were unwilling to consider the charges without proper evidence. a. m. murphy withdrew the charges, for reasons unknown. the matter was not resolved. daily attended the annual indiana methodist conference that fall, but criticism of his behavior continued. he resigned under pressure on january 26, 1859. in the fall of 1859, the indiana methodist conference examined the case of william daily and decided to expel him. daily had been the first methodist to hold an important position at indiana university.