0 valutazioniIl 0% ha trovato utile questo documento (0 voti)
6K visualizzazioni2 pagine
"Official" Penn State business is conducted by a small cadre of Executive Committee trustees in secrecy, without full discussion by the whole of the 30-member Board.
Such as it was when they tacitly accepted the NCAA consent decree, which branded Penn State with an erroneous "football culture" and saddled it with over $100 million in fines, payments and settlements.
Alumni-elected trustees, which constitute 9 of the 30 voting board members, have requested a special meeting to discuss the NCAA issue, in light of the news that Penn State, the State of Pennsylvania & the NCAA will be seeking discussions regarding the disposition of the $60-million-dollar fine to go toward helping child abuse victims (at issue is whether the money should stay within the State of Pennsylvania).
"Official" Penn State business is conducted by a small cadre of Executive Committee trustees in secrecy, without full discussion by the whole of the 30-member Board.
Such as it was when they tacitly accepted the NCAA consent decree, which branded Penn State with an erroneous "football culture" and saddled it with over $100 million in fines, payments and settlements.
Alumni-elected trustees, which constitute 9 of the 30 voting board members, have requested a special meeting to discuss the NCAA issue, in light of the news that Penn State, the State of Pennsylvania & the NCAA will be seeking discussions regarding the disposition of the $60-million-dollar fine to go toward helping child abuse victims (at issue is whether the money should stay within the State of Pennsylvania).
"Official" Penn State business is conducted by a small cadre of Executive Committee trustees in secrecy, without full discussion by the whole of the 30-member Board.
Such as it was when they tacitly accepted the NCAA consent decree, which branded Penn State with an erroneous "football culture" and saddled it with over $100 million in fines, payments and settlements.
Alumni-elected trustees, which constitute 9 of the 30 voting board members, have requested a special meeting to discuss the NCAA issue, in light of the news that Penn State, the State of Pennsylvania & the NCAA will be seeking discussions regarding the disposition of the $60-million-dollar fine to go toward helping child abuse victims (at issue is whether the money should stay within the State of Pennsylvania).
Chairman of the Board of Trustees The Pennsylvania State University 205 Old Main University Park, PA 16802-1571
Dear Mr. Masser:
As consistent with Penn States By-Laws we the undersigned hereby call for a Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees to be held August 22, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the Nittany Lion Inn. We recognize the inconvenience of such short notice; however the immediacy of the subject matter requires the Board act before September 1, 2014. To accommodate trustee schedules we will permit telephonic attendance and will consider holding the meeting any of the dates from August 18-22, 2014. The purpose of the meeting is to address settlement discussions that have and will take place among the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the Pennsylvania State University. It is critical to address this issue immediately because our Board is generally uninformed about these important negotiations and is certainly divided in its views about the NCAA Consent Decree and related sanctions. The NCAA Consent Decree and the Freeh Report (which serves as the foundation for the NCAA Consent Decree) also divide the official university from its alumni. The Board has not sanctioned, nor even discussed, an official negotiating posture for the University. Therefore, we ask that neither University nor Board personnel conduct any further conversations with the NCAA until our direction has been discussed and determined by the full Board and the entire Penn State Community knows what we are doing. As you know, on July 23, 2012 certain trustees and President Erickson agreed to the NCAAs Consent Decree, apparently without full Board approval and under duress of a threatened death penalty. Unsurprisingly, the soundness of this decision remains at issue. On April 9, 2014, the Commonwealth Appeals Court questioned the very validity of the Consent Decree. They also questioned the judgment of the Board of Trustees which had fiduciary responsibility for the financial and reputational well-being of the University. These issues, which speak directly to the guilt or innocence of the University and the proper functioning of its decision- making process, are more consequential than any sanction that has emanated from the Consent Decree. The Consent Decree document acknowledges its own overreach. But there are other serious issues that must be addressed. The NCAAs very standing and its failure to conduct its own objective investigation are also at issue. It adopted the Freeh Report with no oversight whatever. The NCAAs sanctions have damaged the Universitys reputation, cost the University at least $125 million; its piling on to The Freeh Reports assertions about our culture continue to cause pain to our students and alumni worldwide. www.psu-rebot.org
The NCAA and the Commonwealth have already begun settlement negotiations to resolve the validity of the Consent Decree as directed by the court. To date Penn State, as a party separate from the NCAA, has been absent from these very vital conversations. The Commonwealth plaintiffs have instructed the Universityin the form of the full board-- to adopt a position. So too has the Commonwealth Court; it was for this very reason the court directed that Penn State be added as a party to the suit. Yet to date most of the Board has been excluded from these conversations. Only secret meetings that you and the legal subcommittee hold have addressed the subject. We must participate actively and independently. The NCAA is at serious risk in this, as in other PSU-related litigation and other matters nationwide. It must find a way to resolve its issues soon. Time is short. We have been told the Board had no opportunity to dispute the Consent Decree in 2012. Let us not make that mistake again. Keith, the NCAA no longer holds a death penalty over our heads. We can negotiate from strength just as Joe Paterno recommended in his Success with Honor approach to life. Rarely does history provide a do over, but that is just the opportunity now in front of the Trustees. Regards,
Trustees:
__________________ __ __________________ __ ____________________ Edward B. Brown Barbara L. Doran Hon. Robert C. Jubelirer
____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Albert L. Lord Anthony P. Lubrano Ryan J. McCombie
____________________ ____________________ ____________________ William F. Oldsey Alice W. Pope, PhD Adam J. Taliaferro