Penn State trustees discuss reforms to university leadership

Penn State trustees had what several members called a spirited discussion on post-Sandusky scandal reforms to the university's leadership structure this morning.

There were signs of early consensus forming around some proposals to make the board more independent of the university president and even the governor's office, by at minimum ending their voting status on the board.

And there were big splits on other issues, members said, including whether to reduce the overall size of the now 32-seat board.

The discussions occurred in a closed-door seminar this morning, set to precede open committee meetings this afternoon.

None of the major steps are likely to be fast-tracked for the board's public meeting agenda Friday - and in fact many of the reforms under consideration must be adopted by the state legislature.

But "We are seriously looking at all of the different comments that have been made because we want to do what's best for Penn State," said trustee Joel Myers.

Calls to reform the university's leadership structure have grown out of two veins:

* Findings that former university president Graham Spanier largely kept the board in the dark about the developing Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, even after initial press reports verified a potentially explosive investigation was nearing its end.

* Spanier's top-down leadership style left the board ill-prepared to cope with the media firestorm that erupted after the former assistant football coach's arrest, resulting in what some alumni believe was unnecessary damage to the Penn State brand.

Trustee Linda Strumpf said one goal of the morning meeting was to try to develop consensus opinions that can be shared quickly with key lawmakers as the Legislature takes its own look at the Penn State's governance.

The board hopes to be a partner in that process, Strumpf said, as opposed to a bystander.

Trustee Anthony Lubrano, a champion for reform at the trustees level, pronounced himself pleased with the tone and tenor of the discussion.

"My feeling is that there is a legitimate interest on the part of the board to take the lead in the discussion of any reforms to the board of trustees," he said.

Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/01/penn_state_trustees_discuss_re.html

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