Letter to the Editor in today's StateCollege.com
Thank You Andrew:
"Penn State Trustee Barry Fenchak is suing Penn State’s Board to obtain access to financial records necessary for him to provide proper oversight of the University’s activities. His court filing states the following:
“While no active malfeasance, such as conflicts of interest or other impediments, is alleged, it is notable that any such issues would also be impossible to detect or correct without the requested information.”
Although Penn State is a public University, the actions of Penn State’s Board have made it increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens even to observe the Board’s decision-making processes. Additionally, they have potentially excluded Penn State’s alumni from having any meaningful say in the University’s governance.
In 2017, after losing a lawsuit to several of Penn State’s alumni-elected trustees that required the Board to disclose information it had wanted to keep secret, the Board changed its bylaws so that trustees who sue the University can no longer be reimbursed for their expenses even if the Court determines the University was in the wrong. This almost always makes it prohibitively expensive for any trustee to hold the University accountable if the administration or the Board improperly refuses to disclose information that a trustee needs to fulfill their oversight responsibilities.
Earlier this summer, Penn State’s Board further changed its bylaws to require that any alumni-elected trustee candidates must be approved by the Board before being allowed even to appear on a ballot. It is quite possible that once the current alumni trustees’ terms have ended, no new trustee candidates who might ever question the Board’s decisions may ever be allowed to appear on an alumni trustee election ballot again.
Barry Fenchak’s lawsuit may be the last chance the Penn State community has to uncover and correct any possible conflicts of interest that may be causing some of Penn State’s Board members to subordinate the University’s and the community’s best interests in favor of their own.
The costs of Barry’s lawsuit are substantial, and there is no possibility of reimbursement from the University even if he prevails. A GoFundMe account has been established by other concerned alumni at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-penn-state-trustee-barry-fenchaks-legal-fund to help raise support for Barry’s legal fees (with Barry’s approval).
If you would like to support Barry’s efforts to provide proper oversight of the University while there is still time to make a difference, please make a contribution of any size to the GoFundMe account for his legal fees. An option to make your donation anonymously is available.
Andrew Shaffer,
State College"
https://www.facebook.com/#?jig
Thank You Andrew:
"Penn State Trustee Barry Fenchak is suing Penn State’s Board to obtain access to financial records necessary for him to provide proper oversight of the University’s activities. His court filing states the following:
“While no active malfeasance, such as conflicts of interest or other impediments, is alleged, it is notable that any such issues would also be impossible to detect or correct without the requested information.”
Although Penn State is a public University, the actions of Penn State’s Board have made it increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens even to observe the Board’s decision-making processes. Additionally, they have potentially excluded Penn State’s alumni from having any meaningful say in the University’s governance.
In 2017, after losing a lawsuit to several of Penn State’s alumni-elected trustees that required the Board to disclose information it had wanted to keep secret, the Board changed its bylaws so that trustees who sue the University can no longer be reimbursed for their expenses even if the Court determines the University was in the wrong. This almost always makes it prohibitively expensive for any trustee to hold the University accountable if the administration or the Board improperly refuses to disclose information that a trustee needs to fulfill their oversight responsibilities.
Earlier this summer, Penn State’s Board further changed its bylaws to require that any alumni-elected trustee candidates must be approved by the Board before being allowed even to appear on a ballot. It is quite possible that once the current alumni trustees’ terms have ended, no new trustee candidates who might ever question the Board’s decisions may ever be allowed to appear on an alumni trustee election ballot again.
Barry Fenchak’s lawsuit may be the last chance the Penn State community has to uncover and correct any possible conflicts of interest that may be causing some of Penn State’s Board members to subordinate the University’s and the community’s best interests in favor of their own.
The costs of Barry’s lawsuit are substantial, and there is no possibility of reimbursement from the University even if he prevails. A GoFundMe account has been established by other concerned alumni at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-penn-state-trustee-barry-fenchaks-legal-fund to help raise support for Barry’s legal fees (with Barry’s approval).
If you would like to support Barry’s efforts to provide proper oversight of the University while there is still time to make a difference, please make a contribution of any size to the GoFundMe account for his legal fees. An option to make your donation anonymously is available.
Andrew Shaffer,
State College"
https://www.facebook.com/#?jig
