Penn State faculty will consider endorsing positions criticizing the NCAA sanctions against the university during a Senate meeting today.
The sanctions, made in response to the Jerry Sandusky scandal and based on the Louis Freeh report, were the subject of discussion when the Faculty Senate met in August. At that session, 30 former Faculty Senate leaders presented a statement criticizing the Freeh report, saying it “fails badly,” and the NCAA for establishing “a dangerous precedent.”
“The damaging rhetoric used by the NCAA to justify its sanctions has unjustly injured the academic reputation, financial health, and general well-being of the university. These outcomes are in contradiction to the stated ideals of the NCAA, ideals for which Penn State has been an exemplar among universities,” the statement reads.
The NCAA sanctions include a $60 million fine, a four-year football bowl game ban and cuts in the number of football scholarships.
At the August meeting, Faculty Senate also heard a presentation from psychology professor Keith Nelson, who said the NCAA sanctions are unfairly based on the Freeh report. Nelson’s statement asks the NCAA “to consider new actions that would lessen or remove the recently announced PSU football-specific sanctions.”
Today, the Faculty Senate is slated to vote on motions to endorse those statements.
Anne Danahy can be reached at 231-4648. Follow her on Twitter @AnneDanahy.
