Democratic Senators Push for Penn State Governance Reforms

Four democratic state senators are now pushing for quicker movement on governance reforms at the university. They say any changes Penn State has made in that area so far must still be approved by a vote in the state legislature.

Senators Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), John Yudichak (D-Luzerne), Andy Dinniman (D-Chester) and Rob Teplitz (D-Dauphin) held a press conference Wednesday. The men say they applaud the Penn State Board of Trustees for taking steps to reform itself. However, the senators say the changes aren’t valid unless the state legislature votes to approve those changes.

The senators believe it’s time to have the conversation about where the General Assembly fits in making governance changes at Penn State. Dinniman introduced two bills months ago that would make specific changes to the board’s governance. State Auditor General Jack Wagner also released a report on the governance at Penn State. Teplitz says there doesn’t seem to be much progress, either on moving the bills through the legislature or in implementing Wagner’s recommendations. The senators want to make sure the bills are viewed as high priorities.

The lawmakers are calling for hearings to be held over the summer in an effort to make way for the speedy consideration of comprehensive reform legislation in the fall. 

Dinniman’s first bill, SB 410, calls for the downsizing of Penn State’s board – from 32 to 21 members. It would also limit the power of Penn State’s president and to impose term limits for board members. In May, the board voted to remove the governor and president as voting members of the board and enacted term limits, but Dinnimian says those changes aren’t legitimate until the General Assembly votes them in. 

“It was a wise decision by the board, but it doesn’t have that power,” Dinniman says. “The reason General Assembly has a role is because that’s what the statute says, and Penn State has, over the years, decided to ignore the statute. It really is a very complex matter.”

“Penn State, in the past, might not have recognized these statutes … the law is the law. The Penn State board can’t change the law,” he says.

Dinniman says the issue never came to light until Wagner issued his report in November 2012. This left the legislature to figure out one fundamental question: Is Penn State a public institution or a private institution?

“Turns out, it’s both,” Dinniman says. Penn State is a public university in that it takes state funds and is supported by taxpayer dollars. Yudichak says, however, some members of the board “want to weave back and forth” to avoid being transparent and accountable. According to Yudichak, the university sometimes considers itself a private entity that doesn’t have to comply with right-to-know laws. 

“I think it’s clear the General Assembly needs to play a role,” Yudichak says. “The board of trustees does not have the independence to restructure itself. There needs to be a role … we have to live up to the statutory role that the general assembly plays.

“I believe that if we’re going to heal a house divided, there needs to be a level of confidence at the board of trustee level that they established a governance structure,” he says.

According to Penn State, the university has the right to change its own governance structure under the Nonprofit Corporation Law, made possible by the Corporation Act of 1874. Dinniman says because of amendments made in 1939, Penn State’s power to make its own changes without legislation was revoked. 

“Based on the private Nonprofit Corporation Act, [Penn State is] mistaken because they are not a private nonprofit corporation in terms of composition and power,” Dinniman says. “All we’re asking the board to do is to understand … that it needs to respect the statutory law, the right-to-know, and the State Ethics Act.”

The state legislature does not have any power over Penn State when it comes to issues such as academics.

Despite the disagreement over what power Penn State holds, university spokeswoman Lisa Powers says, “We certainly value our partnership with the Commonwealth and the General Assembly, and we will continue to work with them to ensure the future vitality and success of Penn State.”

Dinniman, who received his doctorate from Penn State, says he deeply values the university and wants to see it continue to be the best it can be. He just wants the board to respect that the state legislature has the authority to determine what the board should look like and what its powers should be. 

“I love Penn State. I graduated from it, Yudichak has two degrees from there,” Dinniman says. “We’re doing this to help, not to criticize. Hundreds of thousands of alumni deserve it, because we care about our Alma mater.”

“What would be wonderful is if they sent us a letter saying they welcome [reform],” he says.