Penn State board to consider naming new president
Feb 14, 2014, 10:33 PM
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Penn State trustees will meet early next week to consider hiring a president to replace the administrator who has led the school since shortly after Jerry Sandusky was arrested on child molestation charges, the university said Friday.
The university said earlier in the day the trustees would be holding a “special meeting” in State College on Monday, then confirmed the topic was “the appointment of a president.”
The announcement did not say who was being considered to replace Rodney Erickson, who was named to the top job in November 2011, after Sandusky was arrested, two administrators were accused of a criminal cover-up, and then-president Graham Spanier was forced out after voicing strong support for his aides. Spanier was later charged also in the alleged cover-up.
Erickson, previously the university’s provost and executive vice president, has said he plans to retire by June.
The university said a press conference will follow the noon meeting Monday at the Penn State Conference Center and Hotel.
Sandusky was convicted nearly two years ago of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and is pursuing appeals while serving a decades-long sentence in a state prison.
The two administrators _ athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, both now retired _ await trial in county court in Harrisburg on charges that include perjury and obstruction. Additional counts were lodged against them in November 2012, at which time Spanier also was charged.
All three men deny the allegations, and a county judge is currently dealing with their claims that the actions of a former Penn State general counsel violated their rights and should lead to the dismissal of the charges. No trial date has been set.
___
Online:
Meeting web streaming site:
http://wpsu.org/live
(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
