Three longtime members of Penn State’s Board of Trustees plan to seek reelection this spring.
Jay Paterno, Anthony Lubrano and Alice Pope will collectively contend for the board’s three alumni-elected seats that are up for grabs in the upcoming election cycle. The three incumbents, whose current terms expire on June 30, each possess prolific experience serving on the university’s governing board.
“We have spoken with thousands of alumni to learn their goals and understand their vision of the future,” Pope said in a statement. “Many have expressed their hope that we will continue the work we began as a team over a decade ago.”
The three candidates’ platform largely hinges upon open and transparent board governance, they said in a statement. In recent years, they have also opposed tuition increases and several big-ticket spending items. Each voted against the university’s tuition hikes for 2021-22 and 2022-23 and declined to support Penn State’s new $85 million art museum and $48 million football facility renovations.
Each has also been outspoken about Penn State’s handling of the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal. In 2018, all three joined their alumni-elected trustee counterparts in rejecting the conclusions of the 2012 Freeh Report, the culmination of an $8 million, university-commissioned investigation into the circumstances that led to the scandal. The trustees’ counter-report, leaked by WJAC-TV, rebuked the findings of former FBI director Louis Freeh, whose investigation claimed a culture of reverence for football at Penn State enabled Sandusky’s abuses and blamed administrators for their inaction.
Their reelection campaign announcement, though, was forward-looking, emphasizing challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
“Today, we’re seeing new momentum to address a range of challenges facing Penn State and facing America’s leading research institutions. Penn Staters both here in Pennsylvania and around the country are feeling that momentum, too,” Paterno said in a statement. “Together, our board and the University’s administration can attack these challenges and re-establish Penn State in the national leadership role we have long held. I look forward to serving again to help lead that process.”
Longtime Penn Staters should recognize Paterno as the son of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. He formerly served as the Nittany Lions’ quarterbacks coach and joined the university’s governing board in 2017. Paterno graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1991.
Lubrano, meanwhile, is the president of A.P. Lubrano & Co, Inc., an Exton, Pennsylvania-based financial services and wealth management firm. He first served on the Board of Trustees from 2012 through 2018 before winning another term in 2020. Lubrano also serves as the partial namesake for Penn State’s campus baseball facility, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, following a $2.5 million donation to support its construction. He graduated from Penn State in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
“I pledge to be fully engaged, truthful, and will always do right by those who helped Penn State ascend to the prominence we all enjoy today,” Lubrano said.
Of the three candidates, Pope arguably holds the most experience after serving on the Board of Trustees continuously since 2014. A former psychology professor at St. John’s University in New York City, Pope graduated from Penn State in 1979 before receiving her master’s degree and a Ph.D. in 1983 and 1986, respectively.
“I am committed to working with President [Neeli] Bendapudi to address all obstacles to student success, graduation, and future employment,” Pope said. “We are making progress but need to do more to fulfill our land-grant mission so that all students, including first-generation college attenders, graduate on time.”
Before Paterno, Lubrano and Pope officially appear on the upcoming alumni trustee ballot, they will need to collect at least 250 signatures each during the nomination period, which begins on Jan. 15 and continues through Feb. 25. All Penn State alumni and most former students are eligible to nominate candidates and vote.
Once the nomination period ends, this year’s alumni trustee election will begin on April 10 when election ballots are delivered via email. The election will conclude at 9 a.m. on May 4. Those who participated in the 2022 election process will automatically receive ballots. Eligible individuals who don’t receive a ballot can request one online.
While an official slate of alumni trustee candidates isn’t available yet, the three incumbents will face at least three newcomers in this spring’s race. Penn State Forward, a grassroots coalition that seeks to amplify younger Penn Staters, said it will support three opposing, more progressive candidates. The all-female slate features Ali Krieger, an Olympian, two-time World Cup champion and former Penn State women’s soccer star; Melinda Kuritzky, a federal attorney who specializes in international law and policy; and Uma Moriarty, a senior investment strategist whose work centers on climate-smart investment strategy.
For more information on the upcoming alumni trustee election, visit the Board of Trustees’ website or browse the board’s election policies.
