Pa. senator echos DePasquale’s disapproval of proposed Penn State bylaw change

A state senator has joined the Pennsylvania auditor general in the disapproval of a Penn State proposed bylaw change.

Sen. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, issued a statement Thursday about the change on the table which would prevent a trustee who sues the university from recovering legal fees.

“I echo the concerns of Auditor General Eugene DePasquale regarding the potential changes being made by the Penn State board of trustees this week. At a time where the board of trustees should be discussing ways to implement the recommendations made by the auditor general to improve transparency, they are instead considering changes that would further erode transparency,” he said.

DePasquale put out a similar statement Wednesday, following up on a June report he made in which he criticized the university strongly.

Yudichak has opposed Penn State on governance issues in the past.

When the university was looking at changing board size and representation, he attempted to have the General Assembly make the change by law rather than leaving it in the hands of the board itself.

“I continue to advocate for improvements to the structure of the board of trustees, including a reduction in the size of membership, which I believe would enhance the accountability and transparency of the board,” Yudichak reiterated in his statement.

The bylaw change comes in the wake of seven board members suing the university for access to the source materials for former FBI director Louis Freeh’s commissioned investigation into the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

This story was originally published November 9, 2017 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Pa. senator echos DePasquale’s disapproval of proposed Penn State bylaw change."