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.

If elected, I will:

1.  Create world class governance that is inclusive, collaborative, transparent, and ethical, featuring the best practices of educational governance.

2.  Lead effective long range planning so that Penn State is positioned to thrive in the rapidly changing environment of higher education.  We will find creative strategies for approaching the challenges of decreased state funding, rising costs, and declining numbers of college-age students in Pennsylvania.

3. Enhance affordability of a Penn State education.  We must maintain our mission as a land grant university dedicated to providing a quality education to all the daughters and sons of the Commonwealth.

4. Augment Penn State’s reputation by emphasizing the many positive contributions of the university and educating stakeholders about the economic benefits the university creates.  We should leverage PSU’s own faculty experts instead of hiring expensive consultants who have repeatedly failed to provide quality solutions to pressing problems.

5.  Repair the damage caused by the Sandusky scandal and its aftermath.  We must evaluate the validity of the Freeh report and use the results to contest the NCAA sanctions.  We will conduct a national search for a permanent Athletic Director.   We will find appropriate ways to honor the contributions of Joe Paterno and his family.  I will defend Penn State’s culture against internal and external detractors.