Points of disagreement: Penn State, Auditor General DePasquale disagree over board size, open records

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale sharply criticized Penn State officials Thursday for failing to make more changes in university governance in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

DePasquale noted Penn State has improved its policies and operations in some areas in the aftermath of the scandal, citing compliance with the federal Clery Act on reporting on campus safety incidents as an example.

But some of DePasquale's harshest comments were reserved for the trustees' own reluctance to down-size the board, and the university's ongoing battles to remain exempt from Pennsylvania's open records law.

In the face of a 2012 recommendation from the auditor general's office to cut the board's size to the low twenties,  Penn State's trustees instead voted in 2014 to expand the number of voting members from 32 to 36.

Alumni-elected trustees, a vocal minority that have strenuously opposed many aspects of the board majority's handling of the Sandusky scandal itself, have argued that was done to diminish their clout on the board.

Supporters say it was done to maximize representation of different constituencies, and to help guarantee a broader base of skill sets on the board.

DePasquale was unimpressed.

"The board is too big," he said Thursday. "And too big of a board reduces accountability. Information doesn't get shared (evenly among all members)."

in fact, one of the criticisms of the Penn State board under former President Graham Spanier was that power was too centralized in a hand-picked executive committee.

As a result, the board became subservient to the president, and was caught flat-footed when the Sandusky scandal broke in 2011.

Pointing to recommendations from groups like the American Council of Trustees and Alumni that suggest 12 to 15 members to enough for a university board, DePasquale urged the legislature to step in.

Past legislative efforts to restructure the Penn State board have stalled in the General Assembly.

Penn State, in its response to the audit, countered that it has made significant changes in board operations and structure in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal, including elimination of the president as a voting member and the imposition of a hard, 12-year term limit on board service.

But one of those alumni trustees, Anthony Lubrano, endorsed DePasquale's suggestions.

"This board is far too large and as a result... you end up with just a few people largely making for the board of trustees," while others become disengaged and accept what they're told, Lubrano said.

DePasquale also said it is 'high time" for the legislature to pull Penn State, Pitt and Temple fully under the jurisdiction of the state's open records law the public officials and employees ethics law.

"It is mind-boggling," DePasquale said, "that Penn State continues to push back on these transparency and accountability issues."

Penn State has historically argued that for faculty recruitment, research and other related issues, it's best for the university to be outside of the right-to-know requirements applied to most public agencies.

In its formal response Thursday, university officials noted that is the current sense of the legislature as well, and their focus continues to be on enhancing public access to information on how all public dollars are spent.

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