Ketchen, Snow, Pope: Why PSU Governance Reforms Won't Work

Courtesy Dave Ketchen

WE WON - Analyzing the Result of the PSU Board of Trustee's Elections

The success of the "reform and hold responsible" PS4RS candidates for Board of Trustees is only another step for those of us who worked hard to secure their election. We now need to support them with suggestions and help consolidate the collective power of the only popularly elected members of that body. Congratulations to the new board members.

Now there are NINE -  NINE popularly elected new Penn State Trustees since the 11/9/11 Board who, under the "guidance" of John Surma and the control of Tom Corbett, voted to destroy the reputation of the great institution they had a fiduciary duty to defend.

2012  Election Results Candidate – Vote Total Winners

Adam J. Taliaferro, '05, Swedesboro, NJ -- 15,629

Anthony P. Lubrano, '82, Exton, PA -- 10,096

Ryan J. McCombie, '70, State College, PA -- 4,806

2013  Election Results Candidate – Vote Total  Winners  

Barbara L. Doran, '75, New York, NY – 15,085

William F. Oldsey, '76, Basking Ridge, NJ – 13,940

Edward "Ted" B. Brown, III, '68, State College, PA – 11,403

and NOW  2014  Election Results Candidate -- Vote Total Winners

Alice W. Pope -- 10,025

Albert L. Lord -- 9,516

Robert C. Jubelirer -- 8,101 

The Onward and Upward "MOVE ON" oriented candidates included Myers, Dan Cocco, Julie Harris McHugh, and Matt Schuyler.  UpwardState used some rather devious tactics, such as using photographs of protesting Alumni at the March4Truth, to misrepresent their position about moving forward.  The tactics didn't work.

Cocco and McHugh scored 3800 and 3500 votes respectively - less than half the total of Bob Jubelirer, who was smeared with negative campaign tactics.
Joel N. Myers - the sole 11/9/11 Trustee who sought re-election scored 3500 votes after spending thousands. His role in the 11/9/11 disaster was clearly repudiated by the Alumni.   

Ryan Bagwell (who is responsible for obtaining the emails that exposed the 11/9 members) and Rudy Glocker (endorsed by Sue Paterno)  scored a respectable 3400 and 2700 votes - votes that can be counted against the "move on" movement. 

Ted Sebastianelli - organizer of a group proposing a Joe Paterno statue - and obviously opposed to the "move on" agenda, scored 5700 votes in 4th place. 

So put another way Move On candidates - Myers, Cocco, and McHugh totaled roughly 11,000 votes total  or an average of 3500 votes each while reform and "HOLD RESPONSIBLE" candidates totaled roughly 43,000 votes or 14,000 voters x3 for reform and responsibility. 

Of the Penn State Alumni who cared enough to pay attention and vote on a very basic difference in position and opinion:

3,500 wanted to "move on"   

14,000 want those responsible held accountable

That's 20% vs 80% 

That isn't just a simple victory for the forces of right vs wrong - It is a MANDATE giving the reform trustees a base of support within the Alumni that is powerful and focused on an agenda holding the perpetrators of the 11/9/11 agenda responsible. 

The winning candidates won the PS4RS primary and were thus endorsed by PS4RS. The PS4RS group has spawned additional groups with some differences of opinion on details and tactics like PSU Re-BoT, March4Truth, Put the JoePa Statue Back, and PSU Alumni for Re-Organization of the BoT. But all of these groups were unanimously opposed to the "move on" agenda of the well funded Onward and Upward State groups. The Facebook Pages and websites for the various "Reform and Hold Responsible" groups see significant daily activity.  

This SMSS website is approaching 1.5 million visits this month (the 26th of active existence). That's  60,000 visits a month from Penn Staters who want the TRUTH about what was done to their Alma Mater by Tom Corbett, John Surma and their partners in crime (Ken Frazier, Karen Peetz, the Corbett appointees, etc) exposed.  We supported the "Reform and Hold Responsible" Candidates in order to sustain the 'hold responsible' agenda.  

Only NINE of the Trustees are popularly elected. They alone have a constituency of concerned Penn State Alumni who care about their University - not the interests of corporations or politicians who control their appointments. 

The next move for those who want to hold the 11/9/11 BoT responsible for the damage done - and alter the negative narrative spawned by the Corbett-conflicted 11/9/11 board - is to get actively involved in the defeat of Tom Corbett.  Our impact in damaging Corbett should convince a new Governor to consider our advice on his appointed replacements - as well as reform measures being considered to downsize the BoT and make it more responsive to students and alumni, as opposed to business interests. 

When 80% of the active concerned alumni demonstrate their support with their votes and hard work - these new trustees join the previous six with a significant power base they alone enjoy. These reform trustees were not appointed or chosen by Ag or Business groups - they were elected with a mandate to right the wrong done to Penn State by Tom Corbett and his cronies. This election demonstrates our power to effect change. We need to help set an agenda that makes the best use of that power. 

SMSS will have some suggestions that could alter the narrative during this upcoming election cycle. We herein initiate a discussion of tactics that might re-open the debate in the Commonwealth concerning Penn State's culpability in the Second Mile Sandusky Scandal. 

The election offers an opportunity to focus on Corbett's conflicted agenda that failed to investigate The Second Mile and the Dept of Public Welfare while attempting to blame Penn State. Corbett's failure to protect the children of the Commonwealth by failing to investigate TSM and DPW is a great campaign issue for us. 

A media focused on the gubernatorial election would have to cover 1) Corbett's clear Conflict of Interests concerning Penn State and 2) Corbett's part in the Freeh Fiction. 3) Corbett's clear failure to investigate TSM and DPW - the real agencies that failed the children of the Commonwealth.  Once the public sees how Corbett manipulated this crisis to harm Penn State, everything will be exposed to public view. That will be a very good thing and I think we can help make that happen with the help of the elected BoT members. 

In my view the gubernatorial election not only offers a chance for a new governor to replace a large number of 11/9 Trustees - done right, it could afford reform and responsibility forces input in who replaces them. 

But perhaps more importantly,  this election offers the last best chance to alter the narrative in the Commonwealth concerning Penn State's culpability in what should have always been known as the Second Mile Sandusky Scandal by focusing attention on Corbett's failure to protect children who were failed by The Second Mile and PA's child protection agencies. 

Alice Pope's Statement - SMSS Supports ALICE POPE for 2014 Board of Trustees

SMSS offers our support for PENN STATE BOARD OF TRUSTEES CANDIDATES who assure us that they intend to stand up for the best interests of Penn State, unlike the compromised and conflicted BOT members of Nov 9, 2011. We cannot "move on" without addressing the damage done and holding accountable those who failed in their fiduciary duty to Penn State. I give you the statement of ALICE POPE, who is such a candidate.

Alice Pope is endorsed by PS4RS, Reform Members of the BOT Lubrano, Doran, Oldsey and Brown, and Franco & Dana Harris.

ALICE POPE - 2014 Candidate for Penn State Board of Trustees

I am a 3-time Penn State alumna, with bachelors (1979), masters (1983), and doctorate (1986) degrees in psychology.  I have held faculty appointments for the past 25 years in public and private universities.  The Penn State board currently has no faculty as trustees.  I will bring the perspective of a career educator who is familiar with the challenges facing higher education today, and will ensure that Penn State’s education mission is prioritized in decision-making


I ask for your support based on my record of thoughtful, principled, and constructive activism in response to the board’s errors.  I have worked effectively outside the board; now I am ready to serve Penn State as a trustee. In particular, I have:

1.  Regularly attended committee and full BOT meetings.  I have commented at meetings; have communicated with trustees to voice my opinion; I have connected with alumni who attend meetings. 

2.  Written 11 op-eds and other opinion pieces in Pennsylvania newspapers.  These works have made me a recognized voice of alumni who are concerned with promoting effective governance and with responding to the profound weaknesses of the Freeh report.  Please see my website  to read my published work.

3. Conducted research and written position papers in collaboration with other alumni in support of governance reform.  These reports have been used by our progressive PSU trustees and by state legislators to guide their efforts to make the BOT more effective, transparent, and efficient.

4.  Met with Pennsylvania senators and have formed effective working relationships with several who support PSU board reform.

5.  Used social media to lead actions.  We have generated letter-writing campaigns to PSU trustees and to state legislators in support of governance reforms.

6.  Attended hearings and press conferences in the Capitol on PSU governance reform.  I have also helped to organize attendance by PSU alumni at these events to show the strength of our numbers.