A letter from Al Lord, distributed via email 7/25/14: July 25, 2014 I have been remiss communicating with those who helped elect me to the PSU Board of Trustees. Yes I made it, thank you. This note is an update through my first official meeting. In June I participated in a heartening orientation session during which I met PSU’s impressive senior management and the newly elected and appointed trustees. I was particularly pleased with President Eric Barron’s presentation. Though I am not quite prepared to confer a final blessing (as if my blessing matters), I like the man’s big picture perspective; I like his comfort level with financial conversation and I like the man. He would prefer that Sandusky related matters to disappear of course. I am as yet unclear about his reverence for our past as he embarks on the future. As is so often the case at quality institutions, either private or public, our management’s success is achieved in spite of its Board of Trustees. My first Board meeting was July 10 and 11 on the Schuylkill Haven campus. Not surprisingly my initial skepticism was confirmed; my hopes damaged – though not yet crushed. The divide between the appointed, unelected majority and the alumni elected minority is really a chasm. The majority is not subtle in its exercise of power or its disdain for elected trustees. Each position of board authority is held by an unelected trustee. My candidacy and now my trusteeship are principally about restoring Penn State’s past. Seemingly overlooked by our board in their quest to ‘move on’ is that alumni connect to Penn State through the memory of their wonderful years there—obviously the past. The “Berlin Wall” that divides today from the past was built by the 11/11 trustees (and maintained by them and self-appointed successors). That Wall seeks to rewrite history and uses the NCAA consent decree and the Freeh Report to support its claims that our past is tainted and they must reform it. Too many focus ire on the NCAA, a worthy target, but, I believe, secondary. The Freeh Report is the primary villain; Freeh set out to destroy our culture, our history and our real leaders. This report was received and two years later remains unanalyzed. Its mistakes, oversights and exaggerations must be corrected and importantly the investigation completed. By my count the relevant parties around the 2001 incident were McQueary, his father, their friend Dr. Dranov, Joe Paterno, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and the victim—a total of seven. Freeh interviewed none—zero-- of these witnesses. I am asked the motivation of the Board majority. Depressingly, I believe the 11/11 Trustees are invested defending their 2011/12 decisions at the cost of truth. They fight truth with lawyers and rules designed to beg forgiveness from the NCAA, George Mitchell and other paragons of virtue. Certain trustees and certain managers see a “big dog” void at PSU that they might fill and have been influenced by their personal aspirations. The dominance of many new lawyers and compliance personnel at PSU speaks volumes about this point. I have attached comments I made to the full Board in our executive session Friday morning. Also attached is the resolution to complete the Freeh investigation which will get a vote at the September meeting. I will keep you informed. We have a steep climb to recapture the Penn State of our “WE ARE” past. The majority will not likely change color. Repair will require an external catalyst. Yet I believe a corner has been turned. Two lawsuits with the NCAA as defendant show great promise; the Spanier suit against Freeh will expose his effort for what it was. The political front, always a delicate arena, provides promise as well. Thank You. We Are Penn State Al Lord
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:10:36 +0000
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