The Penn State board Executive Committee will meet Friday to approve formally the removal of Joe Paterno as football coach and the departure of Graham Spanier as president, the university announced Thursday.

Board action concerning both men was announced Nov. 9. Since then, open-government advocates have alleged that the board may have violated the state Sunshine Act.

Specifically, trustees "may have several times violated state law for (their) failure to publicly announce meetings and how (they) handled the firing of coach Joe Paterno," right-to-know advocate Walter Brasch wrote in the Centre Daily Times.

Reached Thursday, university spokesman Geoff Rushton said the Friday committee meeting will aim "to remedy any concerns over procedural irregularities."

"Due to the extraordinary circumstances, they (trustees) acted swiftly and decisively on personnel matters," Rushton said.

He acknowledged that "there were concerns about the board having violated the Sunshine Law."

Rushton said the board -- unanimously -- is standing by its decisions to remove Paterno and to see an end to Spanier's presidency.

"This (meeting) is to reaffirm those prior decisions," he said.

In deciding to hold the special meeting, Rushton said, trustees consulted with legal counsel.

The board's Executive Committee members are Jim Broadhurst, Michael DiBerardinis, university President Rodney Erickson, Kenneth Frazier, board Chairman Steve Garban, Ed Hintz, Keith Masser, Linda Strumpf and board Vice Chairman John Surma.

Many of the committee members are expected to attend the Friday meeting by phone, Rushton said. It's scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. at the Nittany Lion Inn.

The gathering will be held in the Faculty/Staff Club at the inn and will be open to the public, Rushton said.

Earlier coverage

• StateCollege.com's earlier and ongoing coverage of the Penn State-charges situation