As I mentioned I am pouring over decades of Penn Staters to confirm what my spouse and I remember from our past terms on Alumni Council. Starting in the 70's (with Lloyd Huck, Mimi Barash Coppersmith, etc) and running right up to almost 2012 (when Grass Roots efforts like Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship broke the pattern, ousted the Old Guard and replaced them with maverick Trustees like Lubrano) the person selected as the only candidate for VP/ President elect of Alumni Council was launched immediately into a Trustee seat. Some - like Jesse Arnelle, stayed 44 years, many stayed over 20 years. from the early 70's to 1990, there were just 3 exceptions, one we know was due to health concerns and one sought an alumni seat on the BOT against power Trustees like Arnelle. He did not fit for B & I or Ag seats.The data is too long to list here, but it shows absolute control by the University over who leads the PSAA and who gets to be Trustee. I am not going to be able to reply/ post much here after Saturday for a week because I am out of the country, but will come back in as soon as possible. I saw the by-laws changes to the Alumni Council in April as a MASSIVE power grab and a bitch slap to our Alumni elected Trustees. The three at large appointees scream that to me, the automatic seat for the Past President of the Council, even though the chartering by-laws of the PSAA have always had a Trustee Liaison, and the clear evidence of decades and decades of PSAA Presidents getting an auto- launch to be Trustee and even a short path to be chair of the Board, while our Trustees are not allowed to even chair a committee just screamed out at me. Our elected Trustees deserve fair treatment.
Absolute control
- Thread starter SueWilson4AlumniCouncil
- Start date
So, during the time that some very good things happened for the University, these people were in complete control. Also, during the time when an absolutely unspeakable series of events which were very damaging to the University's brand occurred, they were in control. And as the reaction to the unspeakable was carried out, THEY carried it out--so badly that what would have harmed the University's brand in any event did some irreparable, long-term harm to it.
Like any dictatorial regime threatened with overthrow, they are tightening the rules and excluding the new voices more than ever before. They are, in the end, approximately like the Cabinet of Hosni Mubarak in the face of the Arab Spring.
Dem, I agree that the people in charge handled it so badly, or did they? Correct me if I am way off base but did most of the executive committee serve on the 2nd mile board as well? It seems to me that they intentionally led this mess from the second mile side of the fence to the PSU side of the fence. I can’t help believe that these people are not stupid while holding positions of intense responsibilities in their private lives would be so careless to continue in their performance without a reason for doing so. It was as though the media was being spoon fed to lead them from the second mile and the narrative was being developed that the 2nd mile was completely removed and this was a Penn State issue only. It would be easier to control everything under the cloak of the university. As all that has happened since 2011 and is still mind boggling that the truth has yet to be told, they are not stupid but in fact very smart. I believe that this is so much larger than just a Penn State nightmare.
In a strange way, I hope you are right. I can accept their being evil more easily than their being dumb. I think we get both on this go round, though.
A very interesting reply- which deserves some deep thought. I have always believed that anyone can function well in good times, but it is when truly tested that the real strength o lack thereof in an individual or an institution comes out.
Good point raised here- The Trustee may not have been on the Board of the 2nd Mile, but in several cases it was the wife or son, etc (Dottie Huck, Steve Garban's son are two that come to mind) and then there were some power broker politicians and big donors to PSU who were entrenched in TSM. While the case can be made that "everyone was on TSM Boards or donated heavily", the Second Mile, as a Charity, did not provide insurance protection to their Trustees. At Penn State, individuals are protected and would not have to cough up personal funds to pay victims if sued. I do NOT believe all of these extremely successful folks were stupid, nor evil. They were shrewd in protecting their personal family and assets, knowing that Penn State had endless deep pockets, TSM did NOT. Although it was nearly an instant erasure of TSM Board Members on line, I do remember there were multiple boards of directors, some merely "honorary" with some big names in golf and other sports there, but others were the working/ responsible boards. Garban's son was on one of them, as was Dottie Huck, right up to the last if memory serves. I just wish I had printed all of the boards from online to see who else was there. I do remember it is a substantial % of the BOT who were on duty in 2011 who also were involved on TSM, or major donors.
Exactly right and history has proven this time and again. Sadly, when Penn State faced the greatest crisis in it's history, it had the worst possible leadership. Whether that was due to incompetence, arrogance, criminality, or something else, remains to be seen, but it put a stain on this University that may fade, over time, but will never be erased.
Over the last few years I thought I read on this board their were pretty heavy hitters connected to the 2nd mile. Besides the huge PA political power brokers, it also included individuals connected to the underworld from Jersey and NY and Philadelphia. The 2nd mile needed to disappear. I recall a Philadelphia transit cop reported that when was 11 yrs. old he was introduced to "men of stature" at a 2nd mile function.
I have that stuff printed out, and I've got a lot of it summarized in other forms. Let me know if you want me to get anything to you. A few folks here might vouch for me: demlion, Lundy, mhentz, psudukie, ray blehar. My email is BHF23@aol.com.
SR/BHF
Sue, nice research. I hope when you return from abroad that you write it up. Your post confirms what I thought was the case, and what several others I've discussed it with thought was the case as well.
I'd defer to Ray on the actual list, as he's researched that pretty extensively. I will point out that I've spoken to several people that were made honorary members of TSM board without their knowledge, and without ever doing a thing in terms of attending a TSM board meeting. As such, it's best to keep in mind that there were many layers of TSM board membership.
My suspicion is that when discovery is completed in the Paterno Family lawsuit, the leadership will appear even worse than has been alleged on this board.
Lastly, if you're interested Sue, I will vouch for BHF23. He has been very good at keeping records, and is a great source of info.
Ira Lubert was the only member of the November 2011 BOT to have served on a TSM Board (at least after 2005; records I've seen are spotty before then): the Southeast Region Board from at least 2005 to 2008. His name vanished prior to the production of TSM's 2009 annual report...oddly, just at the time the V1/Clinton County situation broke. Trustee Emeritus L. J. Rowell, Jr. was also listed on TSM's Southeast Region BOD in their 2005 Annual Report. Many others were contributors, and as noted, PSU BOT family members Drew Garban and Dottie Huck served on TSM's board for many years.
Good point about the lack of insurance at TSM. I guess that explains the you-can't-sue-TSM clause in PSU's settlements with the victims.
you can go to www.guidestar.org and search The Second Mile. I think you have to register and may be a fee but if you get in get the FORM 990's that are posted there. All non-profits are required to file an Annual Form 990 with the IRS and they are all posted there.
In there it will detail all of the board members each year as well as the major donors
Similar threads
