I doubt that very many have read the entire 60 page document of the Bylaws (what university has 60 PAGES of Bylaws?)
So - Cliff's Notes version:
1) Eliminates ability of Alumni to elect their representatives to the Board of Trustees. Historically, Alumni elected 9 of the Trustees (of the 36 members of the Board). They did so by first nominating candidates for a spot on the ballot - and then holding elections where the top 3 vote getters earned 3-year terms on the Board.
These new Bylaws now mandate that a small committee of the Board - all of whom are selected by Chair Matt Schuyler - will pre-select a group of candidates of THEIR choosing, and the alumni will then select among those options.
Picture Moscow elections circa 1960s.
This is included in Bylaws Appendix: Section 1: Part 2 f)
2) Forbids trustees from expressing differing opinions or viewpoints - or to be critical of Board actions. With the punishment imposed on those who transgress being removal from the Board.
Bylaws Section 2.04 b&c) and Section 2.03 c)
and
Bylaws Section 2.02 c) and 2.05
IMO, this set of new Bylaws violates the 1st Amendment
3) Allow the Chairman to determine and censor which trustees receive what University information (financial records, etc).
I believe these Bylaws clearly violate existing PA State Law.
Bylaws Section 2.03 e)
4) The Bylaws will now concentrate power to control the University to a small subset of the Board (the Executive Committee) - a small group all selected by Chair Matt Schuyler. That committee operates in complete secrecy, In secrecy even from the other trustees.
Bylaws Section 3.02
Regardless of the extent to which these new Bylaws may violate State Law and Constitutionality, they were pushed through by Board leadership. So the only way to oppose them will be through the Courts.
As many of you might know, I am doing exactly that.
The full Bylaws here:
https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/.../07/Bylaws-2024-July.pdf
So - Cliff's Notes version:
1) Eliminates ability of Alumni to elect their representatives to the Board of Trustees. Historically, Alumni elected 9 of the Trustees (of the 36 members of the Board). They did so by first nominating candidates for a spot on the ballot - and then holding elections where the top 3 vote getters earned 3-year terms on the Board.
These new Bylaws now mandate that a small committee of the Board - all of whom are selected by Chair Matt Schuyler - will pre-select a group of candidates of THEIR choosing, and the alumni will then select among those options.
Picture Moscow elections circa 1960s.
This is included in Bylaws Appendix: Section 1: Part 2 f)
2) Forbids trustees from expressing differing opinions or viewpoints - or to be critical of Board actions. With the punishment imposed on those who transgress being removal from the Board.
Bylaws Section 2.04 b&c) and Section 2.03 c)
and
Bylaws Section 2.02 c) and 2.05
IMO, this set of new Bylaws violates the 1st Amendment
3) Allow the Chairman to determine and censor which trustees receive what University information (financial records, etc).
I believe these Bylaws clearly violate existing PA State Law.
Bylaws Section 2.03 e)
4) The Bylaws will now concentrate power to control the University to a small subset of the Board (the Executive Committee) - a small group all selected by Chair Matt Schuyler. That committee operates in complete secrecy, In secrecy even from the other trustees.
Bylaws Section 3.02
Regardless of the extent to which these new Bylaws may violate State Law and Constitutionality, they were pushed through by Board leadership. So the only way to oppose them will be through the Courts.
As many of you might know, I am doing exactly that.
The full Bylaws here:
https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/.../07/Bylaws-2024-July.pdf
