Sandusky Retirement Revoked

By Mike Dawson

Jerry Sandusky’s sex crimes against children means he has to forfeit his $59,000 a year state pension.

Pennsylvania’s State Employees’ Retirement System is revoking his pension, effective Tuesday, the day he was sentenced to 30 to 60 years behind bars in a state prison. Sandusky’s attorney was notified Wednesday of the decision.

The pension system determined that Sandusky was a public employee when he committed sex crimes against two boys who were high school students in Clinton and Mifflin counties, Victims 1 and 9.

The crimes, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault, fall under the state’s pension forfeiture statute that was a revision in 2004 that included sex crimes against students.

Sandusky’s wife, Dottie, was designated to receive half his pension in the event of his death, but the pension board revoked that, too.

Sandusky attorney Joe Amendola said he received the notification from SERS on Wednesday afternoon.

“We’re reviewing the SERS’ paperwork and anticipate we will oppose the state’s action to revoke Jerry’s pension,” he said.

SERS said Sandusky had “a prominent and regular relationship” with Penn State between his retiring in 1999 and 2011. That made him a “de facto” employee, SERS said, even though he was not on the payroll.

The letters notifying the Sanduskys of the pension forfeiture listed 47 facts that contributed to SERS decision. Included were the former coach’s numerous appearances on behalf of Penn State, an agreement university officials signed to further the collaboration between university athletics and The Second Mile charity he founded, and his volunteering with Central Mountain High School’s football team.

The letters were obtained by the Centre Daily Times by a Right-to-Know Law request.

Sandusky received a lump sum of $148,271.71 upon retiring in 1999 and received $4,615.11 each month.

In July 2004, SERS made a cost-of-living adjustment that bumped his pension up to $4,908.17 a month.

He was an active SERS member from March 1969 to the end of June 1999.

Sandusky was earning an average of $101,787 when he retired.

Penn State Campus Brigade Club Goes Global

By Victoria Faconti

A brigade on campus has waged a war on fighting poverty and providing sustainable development to third world countries.

The Penn State branch of Global Brigades represents an international student-run non-profit organization that plan trips to countries like Ghana and Honduras to help improve various nations around the world.

Penn State has the largest Global Brigades club out of 200 throughout Europe and the United States, said Campus Chair of Global Brigades of Penn State Michael Henry.

“Communities in developing countries don’t have the resources to carry out their own development projects, and that’s where Brigades comes in,” Henry said.

Henry (senior-immunology and infectious disease) said the goal of Global Brigades is to give students practical on-the-ground experience in sustainable development while working to better the lives of those living in underdeveloped countries.

Global Brigades has a total of nine different chapters that focus on different parts of providing a variety of services to a village in need. Penn State has seven different chapters including architecture, environmental, medical, water, business, human rights and public health.

“It was an eye-opener to experience a different way of life and interact with people who have different values and value the environment the same way we do,” Lindsay McPhail (senior-economic and community environmental development) who has been in the business and environmental chapter said. McPhail went on a trip in January to Panama and helped build greenhouses and gardens.

Each of the chapters focuses on their own project, such as establishing a bank that supplies loans to small entrepreneurs or installing water gravity pipe stream systems so that the villages can have clean drinking water.

Every year, the chapters take separate trips to work on their specific projects. Students host fundraisers, canning trips and bake sales throughout the year to raise money to fund their trips. The brigade is currently doing a fundraiser with Rita’s Italian Ice and selling Italian ice to raise money for their upcoming trip to Honduras.

Fundraising Chair Mitchell Johnson (senior-environmental systems engineering) went to Honduras during winter break last year and helped establish and educate a water council who keep up the improvement systems they installed during their trip.

“It was a great introduction into sustainable water development and make a actual positive impact,” Johnson said.

Last year the largest brigade on campus — medical — traveled with 70 people each trip to Ghana and Panama.

Penn State is Alive and Well Due to Loyal Alumni

Excerpts from Bloomberg News, with some editorial changes and corrections by Myke Triebold.

Penn State’s football team, and its revenue-generating ability hasn’t slipped at all.

Fans have bought 68,000 season tickets, about the same as last year; the 60 luxury suites at Beaver Stadium are sold out, and donations tied to ticket purchases are projected to reach a record $17.5 million this season, according to the school.

Following the “Freeh” investigation that accuses (with no factual evidence) university officials of looking the other way after learning of Sandusky’s child molestation, the National Collegiate Athletic Association banned Penn State from the football postseason and reduced its annual scholarship allotment by 20 for each of the next four years; fined the athletic department $60 million over five years, and wiped out 112 football victories between 1998 and 2011.

Alumni Passion

“We have an extremely passionate alumni group–there is a pride in the traditions of Penn State of Success with Honor that the grassroots have worked hard to maintain,” states Myke Triebold, a Penn State Alumni and resident of State College for over 20 years.  That effort was recently demonstrated by the online competition sponsored by ESPN for “most school spirit” which Penn State won.  Alumni remain proud and committed, and not responsible for the crimes of one man, who was not an employee of the University when the crimes were committed.

Penn State’s response so far received high marks along with a warning from Barry Scanlon, president of Witt Associates, a Washington-based crisis management consulting firm.

Scanlon, whose company advised BP on restoring communities hit by the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill and Virginia Tech after the campus shooting deaths there in April 2007, said Penn State has changed some leadership and shown humility. Those policies must be maintained, he said.

“You can survive a losing season,” Scanlon said in a telephone interview. “You can’t survive a lost reputation.”

Football Revenue

The Nittany Lions generated $116.1 million in revenue in fiscal 2011 and turned a profit of $14.8 million, according to the school’s NCAA revenue and expenses report. Football accounted for $58.9 million in revenue and $43.8 million in profit, which helped support the school’s money-losing sports. The athletic program will borrow as much as $12 million annually each of the next five years to cover the NCAA fine, and the school will expect football to help pay the debt service.

Dave Joyner, athletic director, said contracts as long as 10 years will keep many sponsors in the fold, giving the school time to repair its reputation. The athletic department earned $55.2 million from royalties, licensing, advertisements and sponsorships in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, according to school documents. Sandusky was charged in November.

Beyond Signs

PNC Financial Services Group Inc., (PNC) based in Pittsburgh, has a year left on an agreement that includes signs and tickets to sports events, and banking services on campus.

“Our relationship extends beyond signage,” said Fred Solomon, PNC’s vice president of external communications. “It includes helping Penn State students bank and develop financial management skills. The incident does not eliminate those needs.”

State Farm Insurance Co., the U.S’s largest automobile insurer, dropped its sponsorship of the football team in July to show support for the victims, spokeswoman Arlene Lester said at the time. The company, which declined to say how much the deal cost, maintained support of men’s basketball at the school and college football overall.

Penn State is 3-2 this season after beating Illinois on Sept. 29 at Illinois.  Michael Mauti and the rest of the team executed revenge on a school that was licking its chops for football players after the NCAA sanctions were announced.

Rally Set for September 15–Penn State’s Mishandling of Scandal!

Penn State supporters will take their issues with the university’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky scandal to the public with an on-campus rally Sept. 15.

The rally is set for 10 a.m. on the Old Main lawn. The gathering falls the day after the trustees will be meeting on campus and the same day the Nittany Lions will play Navy in a home football game with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Franco Harris, an outspoken defender of Paterno and critic of the board, is expected to be one of the speakers at the rally.  Rally organizers plan to use the event to call on trustees and other officials to step down. The reasons cited in event fliers and on Facebook is the board’s lack of crisis planning following a March 2011 newspaper report about a grand jury looking into Sandusky and the board’s acceptance of the Freeh investigation findings this summer.  Those involved also would like to see President Rodney Erickson and Gov. Tom Corbett resign.

Those involved would like board members to admit publicly that they made mistakes.

Penn State Football Media Guide–Not this Year?

I got this in an email this morning, and I am outraged.  We need to let the University know how we feel about this decision.  It is OUR media guide, and OUR record, and OUR history!!  And the NCAA can’t take that away from us!

“I was wondering why I hadn’t received my media guide this year, so I called the office this AM.  I was dismayed at the response.

 The media guide WILL NOT be distributed, not at all, this year.  While it had in fact been printed, there were ‘inaccuracies’ (as the lady delicately put it).  I said, oh you mean the players who transferred late, and she said, yes, that’s part of it, but it was also some statistics that needed to be corrected. 

 It took me a couple nano-seconds to realize what she was talking about.  I told her that my two cents was to keep all those facts and figures in there, and if they felt they HAD to caveat it, then do so…..but KEEP THOSE RECORDS STATS INTACT.  She (surprisingly) told me that’s the universal feeling, not just among callers but there on the staff too, but…..”

We Won ESPN Color Day Spirit Competition–Best FANS!!!

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; August 29, 2012 — Penn State has won the inaugural
College Colors Day Spirit Cup, along with $10,000 toward the University’s
general scholarship fund, as part of the Pledge Your Allegiance campaign. The campaign was launched by the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), a division of
IMG College, and NCAA Football, to celebrate the excitement and energy surrounding the kickoff of the 2012 college football season.

The competition encourages fans to wear their favorite school’s colors on Friday, Aug. 31. Penn State Football Eve will launch the season Friday at 7 p.m. and all Nittany Lion fans are encouraged to wear blue and white to the rally that will feature Coach Bill O’Brien and the squad. There is n0 admission or parking fee for Football Eve. Penn State opens the season Saturday, hosting Ohio at 12 p.m. in Beaver Stadium.

The campaign, a Web-based rivalry powered by ESPN.com, featured 172 colleges and universities from across the nation. Penn State won with 44,801 pledges — rounding out the top five schools were Texas A&M, Missouri, West Virginia and Alabama.

The competition began on Aug. 1; Penn State took the lead in the competition about a week into pledging and maintained its lead until the end. Penn State’s surge came as the result of a grassroots effort on the part of students, alumni, employees and fans. The contest also was promoted on Penn State’s Facebook page and on Twitter.

“We are elated to see this incredible expression of Penn State pride, spirit and support demonstrated by our students, alumni, faculty and staff, and friends and fans in winning the Pledge Your Allegiance contest,” said Roger Williams, executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association. “This national victory is what Nittany Nation is all about. We know Penn Staters everywhere will join us in celebrating by wearing their blue and white with great pride.”

A formal presentation of the award will take place during the 2012-13 academic year.

“We are honored to recognize Penn State as the winner of the College Colors Day Spirit Cup and congratulate them on a tremendous effort to rally their fans in the inaugural Pledge Your Allegiance contest,” said Catherine Gammon, senior vice president, brand development, the Collegiate Licensing Company. “We thank all college fans who participated in the competition and encourage fans to continue supporting their favorite school by wearing their college gear on Friday, Aug. 31.”

In order to determine which school has the most spirited fan base, College football’s 173 million fans were encouraged to visit http://www.espn.com/collegecolorsday to pledge their allegiance to their favorite college or university. Standings were tracked nationally, as well as by conference.

The contest was scheduled to run through College Colors Day on Aug. 31, however, due to inauthentic activity on the Pledge Your Allegiance website, administrators ended the online competition on Aug. 24. Penn State was determined the winner based on the authentic pledges that were received through Aug. 24.

This year, College Colors Day is bigger than ever with more than 200 participating universities, the NCAA, and more than 10,000 stores representing the nation’s top retailers participating in events and promotions to provide fans all the gear they need to show their college spirit. The collegiate fan base is the largest, most affluent, and the most well-educated in all of sports. Collegiate licensed merchandise generated
nearly $4.6 billion in retail sales in 2011, with royalties from the merchandise
going back to colleges to support scholarships and campus development programs.

NCAA appeal a losing battle? Experts: PSU has little recourse, risks reviving negative message

By Anne Danahy adanahy@centredaily.com — State College – Centre Daily Times

 When it comes to the NCAA, due process and other standards of a court of law don’t apply.

That’s according to one expert in NCAA regulations and enforcement. David Ridpath, associate professor of sports management at Ohio University, said Penn State doesn’t have to be a member of the NCAA if it doesn’t like the sanctions the organization imposed on the university for its role in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. But, in this case, Penn State President Rodney Erickson already signed off on the penalties.

Ridpath said the 1988 case of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, basketball coach versus the NCAA gave the NCAA a huge amount of latitude. That case, involving a basketball coach who fought his suspension, made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled the NCAA isn’t a state agency.

“That court case gave them license to say, ‘If you want to be in our club, you have to follow our club rules,’ ” Ridpath said.

Ridpath, who had his own run-in with the NCAA as an athletic administrator at Marshall University, said he doesn’t like the way the NCAA handled the Penn State situation, but he thinks those fighting it need to take their complaints to the university.

“Their beef is with Penn State,” he said. “Penn State didn’t need to accept those sanctions.”

Several entities — at least one trustee, the family of Joe Paterno and a group of former players — have filed notices of appeal with the NCAA for the sanctions it imposed on Penn State for its role in the Sandusky scandal.

Although on Friday, that trustee said in an email to the board that he was refraining from further legal action while the matter is under consideration.

They argue, in part, that the NCAA was wrong relying on the findings of the Louis Freeh report. Penn State commissioned the former FBI director to complete that report on the university’s response to the former football coach who has been convicted of sexually abusing boys on campus.

Gene Grabowski, senior vice president at Levick Strategic Communications, said if Penn State wants to get past the crisis it will have to find a way to get those appealing the decisions to stop. Otherwise, Grabowski said, from a communications perspective, the continuing story will be disastrous for the university.

“It keeps everyone thinking and talking about the past and old wounds, rather than moving forward,” he said.

He compared it to Republicans wanting to talk about Watergate. He said while there may be more nuances and precise facts than have come out, the big truth is wrongdoing took place.

“The university needs to make a public call for moving forward, taking the penalties and asking everyone to come together,” Grabowski said.

That may be what happens at 5 p.m. today, when trustees vote via teleconference on supporting accepting the NCAA sanctions.

Gary Roberts, dean and professor at the Indiana University Robert McKinney School of Law, Indianapolis, said he thinks the only entity that would have a legal standing to challenge the decision with the NCAA or in court would be the university itself.

“Having said that, who is the university? That gets kind of tricky,” Roberts said.

He said that would depend on factors such as the university’s governing documents, structure and tradition. In any case, a challenge would have to come from a majority of the board — not just a single member.

“Certainly I think a strong argument could be made that the NCAA did not have the legal authority to do to one of its members what it did because its own rules don’t provide for it,” Roberts said.

Roberts, a sports law expert, said he thinks the NCAA knew the legal risks, but was hoping Penn State wouldn’t challenge them. The association assumed and appears to have been proven correct that the president and most trustees wouldn’t want to put the university through a lengthy legal battle.

Penn State Trustee Speaks Out on Due Process

From Trustee Ryan McCombie
10 August 2012
To: The Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees
As I noted during the Board meeting last Tuesday (August 7), my principal issue in this ongoing saga is the lack of fairness and due process that has been afforded the University and other parties, including persons completely innocent of any wrongdoing, at the hands of the NCAA. My focus in the protective notice of appeal that was filed, and in future proceedings that may be considered, will not be on the authority of President Erickson; rather, it will be on the unlawful and extortionate actions of the NCAA, and the “rush to judgment” that has occurred as a result. This Board should not become a part of this rush to judgment under the guise of attempting to put this matter behind us. So long as the full truth has yet to come out, and there has not been a fair and thorough adjudicative process, this institution will be unable to truly begin a healing process.
Everyone should understand that at the moment in time and under the circumstances that were presented to President Erickson, he faced truly draconian choices. Under the duress of the tyrannical and unbridled power of the NCAA – – power to impose sanctions and penalties not only on our University but an entire region of Pennsylvania – – President Erickson did what I believe most of us would have done. Standing before an almighty adversary with academic, economic and other lives at stake, bravado is seldom a good tactic. Our President knew that he could be criticized for his difficult decisions, but his responsibility was to protect and mitigate the damage that had been done to what he held dear and was responsible to defend. At that moment in time, I believe President Erickson acted with courage and self sacrifice.
It is however, the very imposition of these circumstances of unbridled power, lack of due process, and total lack of accountability by an organization which has acquired immense power, that I protest. By their own admission this was not a negotiation, it was a “cram down” intended to do grave damage to this University and its reputation.
When I see fear in the eyes and voices of University Presidents, Athletic Directors and coaches when discussing the NCAA, I know something has gone fundamentally wrong. No one should fear their government or governing body. The unchecked power of the NCAA and its ability to decree and impose penalties on its members, and by extension their communities, without due process or the rule of law – even their own – must be reviewed.
There have been a great many mistakes made in this Shakespearean tragedy, but it is culminating in the authority of an organization that has become too powerful and too willing to use that power well beyond its charter, by-laws or established precedent.
I have just had an opportunity to read the email by Joel Myers with his suggestions and proposals for moving forward on these issues. I fully support and endorse Mr. Myer’s recommendations and the reasons behind them. The NCAA’s consent decree, to which I take exception, criticizes this Board for failing to “perform its oversight duties” and for failing in its “duties to oversee the President and senior University officials.” We should not fall victim to these same fiduciary shortcomings now, simply because it will help take the attention off the NCAA or make it easier for them to deprive certain parties with their rights to have the decree reviewed by an independent appeals committee. To allow sufficient time for the full and deliberative review that Mr. Myers suggests, I will instruct my counsel to refrain from further prosecution of pending appeals or consideration of other legal actions. It is time to pause, reflect and be fully informed as a Board before casting further votes that will impact the present and future of this great University. Let’s not continue this rush to judgment and pursuit of closure for the sake of closure.
Ryan McCombie August 10, 2012

Ryan McCombie Appeals to the Penn State Board of Trustees

Ryan McCombie’s Appeal to the Board of Trustees 06 August 2012
Dear fellow board members
The challenges we have dealt with over the past year have been the most difficult and demanding that any Board of a Public University has ever faced. The issues are incredibly painful and highly contentious and the path that we should follow is anything but clear. Nonetheless, it is our mission to determine what happened without favor or bias toward the responsible parties, just as it is our duty as trustees to act in the best interests of Penn State. I do not believe the recent actions of the Administration and the NCAA have been consistent with that mission, and I cannot but feel that our inaction is a failure in our duty. I believe we owe to all involved – especially our University community – to insist on and require full due process before we accept these penalties.
Due process is not a theoretical concept to me. It is one of the core values that I fought for as a Navy Seal and as a 26-year veteran of the US Navy. I spent much of my adult life in 3rd world countries ruled by tyrannical dictators. Little did I know upon retiring from this exciting yet stressful vocation to bucolic Central PA, that I would become embroiled in a comparable experience here.
I respect Louis Freeh and I appreciate the work he and his staff did to investigate the handling of the Sandusky matter. At the same time, I think it is important to recognize that the Freeh report is not the equivalent of a legal hearing or review. No one testified under oath; multiple key witnesses were not interviewed; accused parties were not given a fair chance to respond; the findings were highly subjective; and several individuals are still waiting to have their day in court. Yet despite these very serious limitations and others, our Board allowed the Freeh report to be presented as a full and fair review, which it most certainly is not; and we stood by passively while the University accepted an unprecedented penalty from the NCAA, based entirely on the findings of the Freeh report. These are grave mistakes that inflict undue harm on the entire Penn State community, in addition to compromising the rights of numerous individuals.
The argument that is given on all of these issues is that we must do whatever we can to serve the victims and act in a way that eliminates the chance that something like this can ever happen again. I support that end and understand the sentiment behind it, but also know that we owe it to our University and the constituencies we represent to demand due process in this matter. Our desire for speed and decisiveness cannot and must not justify actions that clearly and decisively compromise the future of this institution, unfairly tarnish its reputation and violate the rights of accused individuals. If in the rush to put this crisis behind us, we act in a way that limits the discovery of the full truth or unfairly blames certain individuals, while exempting others who rightfully deserve blame, we will have completely failed on the most important task this Board will ever have.
It is for these reasons that I have decided to file an appeal today with the NCAA seeking a full due process hearing. Additionally, I will be, along with others, seeking to determine whether President Erickson had the authority to enter into the consent decree absent Board approval. It is my belief that this matter did require board approval and that we should engage in a full, and complete, review. In the end, we all benefit from having this matter handled correctly and with full regard for due process – only then can we be truly confident in the result and the actions we take as a board. Furthermore, only after we have given all involved the opportunity to be heard can we move forward together as one University.
It is my sincere hope that some or all of you will join me on this path. If you wish to join in my appeal, please contact my attorney, Paul Kelly, at (617) 305-1263, or by email paul.kelly@jacksonlewis.com.
Let me also be clear: I do not do this seeking a predetermined result nor do I claim to know what the final answers will be. If there is blame to be borne by any or all of our officials, a due process hearing will not hide that fact and I will accept it – as will the tens of thousands of Penn Staters out there not assuaged by a limited process.
I know my actions will be poorly received by some on this board and in the community at large. To that end it would be easier to remain silent and allow these unfair actions to remain unchallenged. I cannot do this. As long as I am a member of this board, I will fight to learn the full truth of the Sandusky scandal and then, and only then, endorse the assignment of blame and the imposition of sanctions.
For the Glory,
Ryan J. McCombie

Penn State Trustee Speaks Out, Challenges Trustees!

A House Divided…

 

Old Main–For the Glory!

These last months have been painful and difficult.  Our University is besieged from all quarters with an overarching criticism of our culture, ethics and integrity.  The Nittany Nation finds itself in narrow straits with few allies and little maneuvering room.  A person is not defined by how he acts in tranquil waters and fair weather.  A person is judged by how he responds in storms and crisis – so too, will be our University.

We cannot continue to fight internally and win the bigger battle of who we truly are as a University.  I understand the visceral anger many feel, recognize the blame many seek to place and sympathize with the calls for punishment and retribution.   I understand the total frustration we have felt as the last 9 months unfolded.  Nevertheless, history invariably judges fairly and truthfully the events of today.   Now, we need to await that judgment.    We must resolve our family squabbles later when a full understanding of these events is known.  Now, there are more than enough external battles to be fought and won.

Crisis calls for unlikely bedfellows.  During the “Cold War” The US and the Soviet Union who had a strategy of “mutual assured destruction” (MAD) were, nevertheless allies against terrorism.  Our family cannot continue to expend our psychic energy attacking each other no matter how great our rage.  There are sufficient external forces doing that already.  Regardless of how we feel about Coach Paterno,  the Board of Trustees or the Administration, we all know that we do not want our University torn apart by internal strife.  History will reveal what happened here!  History will fairly and truthfully judge all of the actors in this Shakespearean tragedy. Now we need to await that judgement and move forward together for our University.

Today – right now-  we all need to address the huge challenges facing Penn State.  We should conduct ourselves in a manner today  that will allow us to look back a decade from now with pride and honor.  This will require the cooperation, coordination and commitment from all dimensions of the University.  The entire family must engage!  From the Board of Trustees to the  Lettermen, from the alumni association to the alumni groups, from the students to the faculty and townsfolk.  We all need to come together for the Pennsylvania State University to heal, recover and thrive.   We need to show the World once again who Penn State truly is and always has been – that we represent a great and noble University with loyal alumni & friends, dedicated and heartfelt students and a staff second to none.  We can do this!  After all – We are Penn State!

-Ryan J. McCombie