STATE COLLEGE.COM COLUMN: …For months, Penn Staters have waited to hear from the Board about its decisions related to the Jerry Sandusky scandal and the firing of Joe Paterno, but most questions were met with what became the Board’s standard mantra of “moving on.” It fueled anger and resentment and became obvious to many alumni that the Board was no longer representing them and their interests. There are members of the Board who have Penn State’s best interests in mind, but it’s hard to tell them apart from the self-serving actions of others.
There seems to be a huge disconnect between the words of the Board and its actions. On the one hand, we repeatedly heard from former Board chairwoman Karen Peetz about how Penn State would become a model of transparency. But it took several months and numerous requests from alumnus Ryan Bagwell and others to finally get the contract between the Board and Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan released. Though the contract has raised some eyebrows, I’m not convinced that it contains anything earth-shattering. But it would have gone a long way in building trust equity if it had been released, willingly, months ago.
I’ll admit that, at this point, it’s hard for some members of the Board to sway the negative perception that many people have of them. But some of the recent dialogue that’s been in the press only adds to these perceptions. When Penn State Trustee Paul Suhey told the Centre Daily Times last week that the Board didn’t fire Paterno, they merely retired him three weeks early, he added fuel to the fire. It’s hard to believe that someone who claims to be in touch with the feelings of Penn Staters could make such a statement. Mincing words is what got Penn State into this situation… (more)
EDITOR: “Moving on” isn’t enough. Most sould move out. The entire selection process which loads the board with the governor and his appointees needs to be reformed. And members should stand for election more often.
