Published: September 13, 2012
The Sept. 2 CDT editorial “Moving forward key to campaign” is right to support the adoption of the Freeh report recommendations for improving governance at Penn State. What is taking so long?
The Freeh report was published in mid-July and the board of trustees agreed to implement its recommendations.
As stated in the report, the board should immediately require full and public disclosure of members’ financial relationships between themselves, their businesses and the university.
Give board members university email addresses and make them known to the public.
In the next two weeks, the board should improve communication with the university community.
The most recent policy on the 30-minute, 10- question approach must be accompanied by at least one open town hall meeting per quarter, per region — without prescreening questions. And the schedule for the coming year should be announced and posted on Penn State websites.
The board should increase and publicize the ways individuals can convey messages and concerns to board members and should review, develop and adopt an ethics/conflict of interest policy. This policy should include recusal of members voting on issues that may be perceived as conflicts of interest. A “perceived conflict of interest” is determined by using a reasonable- person standard.
Given the amount of divisiveness in the Penn State community, we cannot move on without honest, open communications between the board of trustees and the parties it represents.
It needs to start today.
Raymond M. Blehar Annapolis, Md
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