Penn State’s governing body, the Board of Trustees, or BOT, continues to be rocked by the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal.
Two standing members of the Board of Trustees who served during the ouster of former Coach Joe Paterno are up for re-election to the Board, and the election campaign promises to be rocky.
Present Trustees Stephanie Nolan Deviney, an attorney from Exton, and Paul V. Suhey, an orthopedic surgeon from Boalsburg, are opposed by the alumni watchdog group Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship (PS4RS).
PS4RS has vowed to oppose the re-election of all standing BOT members, including Nolan Deviney and Suhey, and to nominate its own choices for replacement trustees.
This election then serves not only as a test of strength and approval of the current trustees, but also as a test of the strength of the reform group. Last year, PS4RS helped elect new trustee Anthony Lubrano.
Nolan Deviney currently serves as vice-chair of the BOT and has already attempted to apologize for the handling of the sacking of the late Coach Paterno.
“Let me be clear – we got this wrong. None of us are proud of how we handled this and we accept responsibility for the fall out it has caused,” Nolan Deviney writes on a post on her webpage. “I agree 100% with Sue Paterno’s statement – Joe Paterno did deserve more.”
Trustee Nolan Deviney’s web post apology is particularly interesting. It provides, for the first time, a detailed timeline and narrative of events leading to Paterno’s sacking.
In response to heated questions from alumni, Nolan Deviney also released, for the first time, the contract signed by PSU with former FBI Director Louis Freeh, whose July 2012 report many have criticized as a political whitewash.
Trustee Nolan Deviney has also drawn fire for working in the same law firm, Fox Rothschild, that represents former PSU attorney Cythnia Baldwin in the ongoing criminal prosecution of school officials.
“The attorney who is representing (Baldwin) is not in my office,” Nolan Deviney writes on her blog. “In fact, I have never even met him, let alone spoken to him about this, or any other, case. I had no involvement in the selection of my firm to represent Ms. Baldwin. I have no monetary interest in this representation. An ethical wall was immediately established to prevent any conflict between my role on the board and my firm’s representation of Ms. Baldwin.”
Paul V. Suhey, meanwhile, is from an old-line family with deep historical roots to the State College community. Unlike his fellow trustee Nolan Deviney, Suhey has not released a narrative of events leading to Paterno’s ouster. “Dr. Suhey was elected to the Board of Trustees by the alumni for a three-year term beginning July 1998 and was reelected for succeeding terms,” his trustee webpage explains.
Displeased alumni have a limited ability to change on the Board of Trustees.
Of the Board’s 32 members, only nine are elected to the BOT by alumni, and these in staggered elections, as we see this year.
“The size and composition of the Board of Trustees has not changed since 1951,” Penn State’s website explains.
“Penn State’s 32-member Board of Trustees is composed of the following: Five trustees serve in an ex officio capacity by virtue of their position within the University or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. They are the President of the University; the Governor of the Commonwealth; and the state secretaries of the departments of Agriculture; Education; and Conservation and Natural Resources. Six trustees are appointed by the Governor; nine trustees are elected by the alumni; six are elected by organized agricultural societies within the Commonwealth; and six are elected by the Board of Trustees representing business and industry endeavors.”
The Pennsylvania State Senate this week holds hearings to discuss an overhaul of the BOT, including proposals to limit the governor’s influence on the body.
The balloting of this year’s election to the BOT begins on April 10. Results will be announced on May 3.
Trustee candidates perhaps best known to central Pennsylvanians include Harrisburg attorney Bill Cluck, an active member of PS4RS and chairman of the Harrisburg Authority, which oversees the troubled city incinerator; and Kathleen Pavelko, chairman and CEO of WITF, the region’s public radio and television stations. Pavelko used to work in State College broadcasting.
Candidate Pavelko perhaps also holds a key advantage: in a crowded field of 39 candidates, she drew the number one ballot position.
Here is the official list of candidates appearing on the ballot for the alumni election to BOT, listed according to the ballot positions drawn Feb. 28:
1. Kathleen A. Pavelko, president and CEO, WITF, New Cumberland, Pa.
2. Pratima Gatehouse, vice president, Production Design, Avalon Partners, Short Hills, N.J.
3. Eugene J. Bella, retired, Murrysville, Pa.
4. Paul V. Suhey, orthopedic surgeon, Martin & Suhey Orthopedics, Boalsburg, Pa.
5. Thomas A. Conley, Air Force pilot, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Washington, D.C.
6. John W. Diercks, retired, United States Air Force, State College, Pa.
7. Edward “Ted” B. Brown III, president/CEO, KETCH Consulting Inc., State College, Pa.
8. Rudolph K. Glocker, managing partner, Pediped Footwear, Henderson, Nev.
9. Christopher J. Bartnik, senior vice president, East Region Benefits Leader, Wells Fargo & Co., Chantilly, Va.
10. Vincent J. Tedesco Jr., director, Lockheed Martin Corp., State College, Pa.
11. William J. Cluck, attorney, Law Offices of William J. Cluck, Harrisburg, Pa.
12. Stephanie Nolan Deviney, attorney at law, Fox Rothschild LLP, Exton, Pa.
13. John M. Mason Jr., associate provost & vice president for research, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.
14. Robert J. Bowsher, writer and accountant, San Diego, Calif.
15. Doreen Ulhney Schivley, retired speech therapist and special education teacher, Kent County Board of Education, State College, Pa.
16. J. Andrew Weidman, chairman, Reinsel Kuntz Lesher LLP, Reading, Pa.
17. Ben J. Novak, retired, Ave Maria, Fla.
18. O. Richard Bundy, president and CEO, University of Vermont Foundation, South Burlington, Vt.
19. Matthew A. Bird, project controls manager, Bechtel Group, Gettysburg, Pa.
20. Frederik O. Riefkohl, senior vice president, CSA Group, Annapolis, Md.
21. Mark S. Connolly, intellectual property director, E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., West Chester, Pa.
22. Barbara L. Doran, wealth advisor, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, New York, N.Y.
23. Darlene R. Baker, vice president of operations, PSKW LLC, Warminster, Pa.
24. Robert J. Hooper, president/chair of the board, Vermont State Employees Association, Burlington, Vt.
25. Amy L. Williams, founder and managing director, SageWorks Rx LLC., Wayne, Pa.
26. Robert N. Grimes, chairman, CEO and president, ConStrata Tech Consulting, Potomac, Md.
27. Jeffrey N. Goldsmith, account executive, Premium Card Solutions, Harrisburg, Pa.
28. David K. Mullaly, retired teacher, Annapolis, Md.
29. Robert P. McKinnon, founder, GALEWILL Design, Inc., Hastings on Hudson, N.Y.
30. Ted J. Sebastianelli, retired, deputy HR director, Military District of Washington D.C., State College, Pa.
31. Christopher R. Owens, mobile banking manager, Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union, Mechanicsburg, Pa.
32. Gregory A. Slachta, MD, retired urologic surgeon, Ridgeland, S.C.
33. Charles R. Mazzitti, president, Mazzitti & Sullivan E.A.P. Services, Elizabethtown, Pa.
34. Gregory “Sandy” S. Sanderson, CEO, CollClub Sports, Pittsburgh, Pa.
35. Robert C. Jubelirer, partner, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, Boalsburg, Pa.
36. William F. Oldsey, operating partner, Atlas Advisors, Basking Ridge, N.J.
37. Patrick J. Howley, Baltimore, Md.
38. Ryan M. Bagwell, senior interactive developer, Hirshorn Zucherman Design Group, Middleton, Wis.
39. Scott T. Kimler, owner, ST Consulting, Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
Source: Centre Daily Times
