The NCAA Lawsuit: Penn State's Root Canal

For organizations like Upward State, aka UpYours State, that are willfully distorting the role of the lawsuit against the NCAA, and the need to add Penn State as a nominal defendant.

Letters to the BOT

What most people don't know, is the BOT is being flooded with letters questing their recent decisions.

Several of these powerful letters are listed below.

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You have the rare luxury of hindsight and the opportunitiy to reverse your decision to fire Joe Paterno and instead accept his resignation. I would assume that you have been following the media (we know you cave to the media ie your knee jerk reaction in firing Joe Paterno in the first place). With all of the information from credible sources you should realize that legally you have no grounds to fire him. In time this will come back to haunt you. The same way the initial decision in the handling of Jerry Sandusky by the attorney general, Ray Gricar, Corbett and the Penn State board of Trustees is now coming back a thousand fold. Can you not learn from your mistakes? Fix this travesty while you still can.

Elizabeth Morgan
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Dear Board of Trustees,

I want to start by saying that I'm not prone to overreaction or one to send a lot of complaint letters. I also serve on boards of both public companies and non-profits and believe I have a sense of the pressure the Trustees were initially under and continue to experience as well as the sometimes cloudy interpretation of the Board's responsibilities.

I am simply disappointed and deeply saddened. While the pressure was tremendous, you had an opportunity to stand tall and represent an ideal and you missed it. You validated a mob mentality being stirred by irresponsible media. You did what was expected rather than what was right. In so doing, you took away the opportunity for the Penn State community to stand tall and point out to the world that the actions of Jerry Sandusky were not the actions of Penn State.

I am not so naive to think that if everyone had it to do again, they would not recognize that different steps would have been immeasurably better. Mistakes of commission and omission were undoubtedly made. However a statement like what follows would have given us all something to rally behind. It would have been calming during the storm. It would have been the kind of leadership that is expected of you.

"The board has been deeply concerned about the events that have been unfolding. We've thought long and hard and debated what steps to take. In the end, we are guided by the values and principles this institution has stood for and continues to stand for. We feel a great sense of sadness and we will diligently continue the process of investigating and seeking to understand what has occurred. Our positions may change as facts unfold. For now however we are not going to abandon good people who we believe acted according to their best judgment at the time, in very difficult circumstances. As a board, we are not going to bend our principle of fairness and loyalty due to the rush to judgment we are seeing until we have factual information that indicates our loyalty is misplaced.

At the same time, the Board will not exercise blind loyalty. The situation is deeply concerning, and we will find out what we as an institution need to learn from this and we will insist on appropriate accountability. But to be very clear and specific, it is inconsistent with the values of this university to turn our backs on people we believe are good because of pressure we are under. Joe Paterno remains the head coach of our football team, but more importantly a valued educator and member of the Penn State family. He is not beyond evaluation regarding these events; however we don't expect perfection, just good moral character and selfless intent and dedication to what Penn State is. If there were improprieties, his record will not excuse them. However his record is clear and he deserves our support at this time - regardless of the pressure and rush to judgment we are seeing.

We want to reiterate that the principles we are dedicated to at this time are due process and standing by good people in trying times. These are principles we want our students and alumni to be able to count on. We will update you as the Board continues its work."

More than simply an opportunity lost, the course you chose is heartbreaking and will shape the path for years to come. I won't presume to speak for all, but many alumni feel rudderless due to the lack of leadership in this critical time.

Respectfully,

Bill Boor
BS - Chemical Engineering
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Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

As a current student and Alum of Penn State I was disappointed with the board’s action to terminate a long standing member of the University with haste and without foundation. The board allowed media pressure and opinion to taint their judgment. This is not the way any organization should run their business.

In fact within the entire situation as best as the current evidence suggests Joe Paterno did the right thing, yet he has been vilified by the boards decision. Just because a decision to accept Joe’s retirement is not necessarily supported by the media’s desires is not nearly enough for the board to take further action. In fact in taking this action the Board has further tarnished the Penn State Brand by allowing the prevailing opinion to flourish. Further the board has fostered the opinion that this was a “football” matter when in fact the accused had no longer reported through Joe Paterno in 2002.

If the Penn State Community had bowed to public opinion of the time in 1946 there would be no “We Are”. Back in 1946 it was the Football Program that stood up for the right thing in the face of adversity. This was one of the defining moments in our history and for that I am proud. The Board failed in their duties during their recent decision and failed in their duties since 2002. Either the board was aware of the situation in 2002 and failed to insure the incident was reported or it was not. If the board was not aware then organizationally something is wrong since a decision not to report such an incident should have been brought to the boards attention. By firing Joe Paterno the board has placed the blame for its failure wrongly upon an individual who did was required of him. This is not the Penn State way and the decision should be reversed.

“We are Penn State” This is what we should stand for. We should right this wrong and then we should do what we should have done in the first place. Compile all the facts, make appropriate decisions that impact those affected based on those facts, and put adequate controls in place to insure that whatever went wrong cannot happen again.

I am Proud to be a Penn State Alum and will forever be so. However, if this board can not correct its wrong I for one will do everything in my power to insure we correct this by working tirelessly to insure the Board is replaced with people who understand what Penn State is and should be.

Please take the time and consider what has transpired and correct the mistakes that have been made.

Sincerely,

John R. Cohrac Sr. ‘90

Letter to the BOT

Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship kindly requests that the Board of Trustees provide an apology to Coach Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier for the decision to terminate both individuals prior to completion of an internal investigation. Additionally, as the meeting to terminate both employees was held in secret in violation of the Sunshine Act [65 Pa.C.S.A 701-710] Joe Paterno should be reinstated as head coach and Graham Spanier should be reinstated as University President.

The Pennsylvania State University would not be the institution that it is today without Joe Paterno’s contributions to attitude, excellence and education. The University reputation has been tarnished by the recent events and Joe Paterno’s legacy has been ruined as a result of this Board’s decision to feed the media firestorm.  Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship requests that that BOT show leadership by recognizing that the hasty decision had a negative impact on the entire Penn State community, Alumni, students, faculty, employees, supporters and friends by failing to seek answers before acting.

Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship requests that the board demonstrate its leadership abilities by admitting that they hurried to a rush judgment without facts and by overturning the decision to terminate Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier.

If the board chooses to ignore our request, Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship will work tirelessly to ensure that all Alumni voted members of the BOT are replaced with individuals who have virtue, character and the ability to lead the University.

Our Web site is now online

http://ps4rs.org/

Penn State Trustees May Have Violated State Law

Penn State Trustees may have violated Sunshine law with secret/emergency meetings including the one that fired Joe Paterno.

Excellent analysis by an ATTORNEY

Another Side to the Penn State Story

Sandusky Cover Up Scandal

Sandusky Cover Up Scandal at Hacksaw's Sports has an excellent commentary.

Another Trustee: Paterno was Fired to Gratify Media

Trustee: Media frenzy forced board's hand

Why did the trustees rush to judgment? Intense media attention and public outrage compelled them to take immediate action against coach Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier, according to a trustee who spoke to The Morning Call.

The board feared any delay would only fuel the frenzy outside, said the trustee, who asked to remain anonymous.

The board considered letting Paterno stay on for Saturday's home game, but with interim head coach Tom Bradley assuming the role of team spokesman, the trustee said. In the end, however, he said the board feared all the television cameras would remain focused on Paterno, thereby unnecessarily drawing out the drama and further damaging the university's reputation.

There is is. The Board acted solely to gratify the media, thus underscoring its lack of fitness to exercise stewardship and responsible trust for the University.

"It was a witch hunt at Penn State"

Bill Kline's "It was a witch hunt at Penn State" says all that needs to be said.

In bouncing Paterno last week, John Surma, the vice chair of Penn State's Board of Trustees, said the trustees "do not yet know all the facts."

Exactly 51 seconds later, Surma, when asked why Paterno was let go, responded: "In consideration of all the facts …"

Talk about an oxymoron. Which one is it? Do you have all the facts or not? And if not, on what are you basing your decision?

Trustee Admits Rush to Judgment!

PSU Trustee Speaks About Paterno, Spanier Firings speaks for itself.

He said the board had to act fast last week so the university could move forward, but now it has to take its time making sure it knows all the facts before making other changes.

This is an open admission of a rush to judgment and therefore poor stewardship.

We need a name for our movement

We need a NAME for our group. Our nominees will have a limited amount of space for biographies (hopefully including Penn State activities) and campaign statements. We want them to be able to add a simple phrase to show why they are running against the incumbents:

(1) "Penn State Alumni for Honor"
(2) "Committee to Restore Penn State's Honor"
(3) "Alumni for Responsible Stewardship"
(4) "Committee for Responsible Stewardship"
(5) Others?

E.g. if Franco Harris were to agree to run, he could add simply "Penn State Alumni for Honor Candidate" and people could look up that phrase on the Internet.

Since our goal is indeed to restore our University's honor, we should also do something about the root cause of Sandusky's (alleged until proven) child abuse. I sent a couple of State Reps whom I know a link to a site that lists various states' "Duty to Rescue" laws. These generally provide low-grade misdemeanor penalties for NOT calling the police to intervene in a violent felony, which is what Mike McQueary apparently didn't do (but now claims to have done). This sounds reasonable. (http://volokh.com/2009/11/03/duty-to-rescuereport-statutes/)

Facebook group contact information

I intend to vote out the Penn State Board of Trustees

You must be approved by the group owner.

Trustees' Own Statement Proves Poor Stewardship

Are we the only ones who see something wrong with the fact that the Board fired and humiliated Joe Paterno (and also forced President Spanier to resign, although the buck arguably stops with him) the next day, before the indicated action was taken?

At its regular meeting on Friday, November 11, 2011, the Board will appoint a Special Committee, members of which are currently being identified, to undertake a full and complete investigation of the circumstances that gave rise to the Grand Jury Report. This Special Committee will be commissioned to determine what failures occurred, who is responsible and what measures are necessary to insure that this never happens at our University again and that those responsible are held fully accountable. The Special Committee will have whatever resources are necessary to thoroughly fulfill its charge, including independent counsel and investigative teams, and there will be no restrictions placed on its scope or activities. Upon the completion of this investigation, a complete report will be presented at a future public session of the Board of Trustees.

"Sentence first, verdict afterward" is suitable for a scene in Alice in Wonderland but not for responsible adults who are entrusted with the welfare of an institution like Penn State.

Note that there was obviously no determination whatsoever of what failures occurred or who was responsible before the Board (in our opinion) caved in to media pressure the following day. This should make an excellent management and business ethics case study, and we encourage management schools to adopt it as such. We may even cite it in our new book on management and leadership, which stresses the role of a leader as a steward and holder in trust (the Indo-European root dher, e.g. Dharma, Jemadar) of an organization's well-being.

Procedure for Petition Candidates

Membership Selection

Alumni trustees are elected, three each year for three-year terms, by the following procedure: On or before January 15 each year, nominating ballots are sent (1) to all alumni of the University who have, within two years prior to March 1 of each year, been either active members of the Penn State Alumni Association or contributors to the Penn State Fund, or (2) to any other alumni who make a request in writing for a ballot.

Qualified alumni who receive 50 or more nominating votes, and who accept the nomination in writing, have their names placed on an election ballot which is sent to the alumni (specified in the paragraph above) on or before April 10. At a time specified by the Board during spring commencement week, the ballots are tabulated in the presence of two trustee tellers. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes are declared elected.

Nomination forms must be submitted to the Office of the Board of Trustees by the deadline specified.

THE DEADLINE IS MARCH 1 2011

Contact Information: The Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees 205 Old Main University Park, PA 16802-1571 Office: (814) 865-2521 Fax: (814) 863-4631 Email: bot "at" psu.edu