Former Penn State president fought against open records, said would change ways university administers policies and trustees govern

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11/20/11, "Spotlight shines on Penn State secrecy," Centre Daily Times, State College, by Anne Danady and Franco Ordonez

"From Penn State’s athletic department to the halls of Old Main, the university has long sought to control the public’s access to information about its inner workings.

It received $270 million from the state this year, but is able to choose whether to make details of its budget public.

It’s exempt from most requirements of the state Open Records Law. It needs only to disclose the salaries of its 25 highest-paid employees, the salaries of officers and directors and the information filed in its IRS Form 990....

Tucked among forested hills and surrounded by agricultural land, Penn State sits in the center of the state, isolated from major population centers — it’s quipped that it’s “equally inaccessible from all directions.” About 44,000 students go to school at University Park — about a third of Centre County’s entire population. The alumni association has the largest dues-paying membership of any in the country, and football plays a key role in that devotion....

This control of information is abetted by a certain insularity, reflected in the unusually long tenures of the leaders at the center of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal — Spanier and Paterno, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance Gary Schultz. Curley and Schultz — who both face criminal charges and have stepped down from their positions — are also Penn State graduates.

Both Spanier and trustees Chairman Steve Garban — himself a Penn State graduate who captained the football team — cited their long-standing acquaintance when they issued statements declaring unconditional support for Curley and Schultz....

An analysis by the Chronicle of Higher Education found that

• insularity extends to the school’s administrative offices.

Ten of the 18 members of Penn State’s President’s Council, which comprises the central administration, have been associated with the university for more than 15 years. It found that this insularity is further reflected in the education of the administrators, at least seven of whom have degrees from Penn State or have completed course work there.

The trustees appointed longtime Penn State insiders to succeed Spanier and Paterno. The new president, Rod Erickson, joined Penn State’s faculty in 1977 and has been working out of Old Main since 1995. Bradley played for the team in the 1970s, and has been on Paterno’s staff for 33 years."...

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Former Penn State president didn't want open records because it would "fundamentally change the way we operate, the way our trustees govern"...

11/17/11, "Two police departments say Penn State coach never filed report," CNN

"In 2007, state lawmakers considered a change that would have included the school under the open records law. But then-President Spanier testified against the move before the House State Government Committee.

He told the legislature he was concerned about cost and compliance and that there were competitive reasons for keeping records private.

"Nobody would argue the point that the public has a right to know how public funds are spent," Spanier said at the time. "But these proposals will fundamentally change the way we operate, the way our trustees govern and the way the university administers their policies.""...(item midway in article)

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