Penn State wants trustees to speak with one voice

Penn State’s trustees have been a contentious lot in the past few years.

A hard line has been drawn between trustees with differing viewpoints. Generally, that line has put the nine alumni-elected trustees on one side, with the other 27 on the other.

That has led to social media debates, press releases, press conferences and even lawsuits.

But that could be at an end.

On Thursday, the committee on governance and long-range planning voted on an “expectation” of its members. Namely, that once a decision is made, the trustees, regardless of whether they voted for or against it, would all stand behind the group.

That means being careful with critical statements to the public, to the media and even in social media.

There was some opposition.

“I don’t see a lot of difference between speaking publicly in the board room and speaking outside it,” said Barbara Doran, one of the alumni-elected trustees. “Public is public.”

Committee chair Betsy Huber, an agriculturally elected trustee, disagreed.

“There is a difference between speaking to friends and speaking to the press or into a microphone,” she said.

President Eric Barron argued that it was a recommendation from an expert at the board’s retreat earlier in the year.

“This is good practice. Good board practice,” he said.

But trustee Alice Pope has fears about the First Amendment implications.

“It has a little bit of a totalitarian flavor for a university — and especially for a public university,” she said.

Penn State is Pennsylvania’s land-grant university. It is a state-related school, not private, and that means some of what it does falls under provisions like the Sunshine Law. That’s why the full board meeting Friday will take place behind closed doors during the morning until the public portion in the afternoon.

Barron said later that the move is not meant to silence trustees, but to keep the university focused on one message after the board has made a decision.

Pope also questioned the fairness of the policy for the elected trustees, who have to campaign for re-election every three years and would be at a disadvantage against candidates not on the board and therefore not subject to the restriction. Trustee Rick Dandrea proposed an amendment for campaigning. Huber declined to make any amendments.

While trustee and former state senator and lieutenant governor Robert Jubelirer said the provision “seems to muzzle” opposition, Baron pointed out that the recommendation is only an expectation and contains no punitive language.

“This is about helping our university advance itself,” said board Chairman Ira Lubert.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 12:08 AM with the headline "Penn State wants trustees to speak with one voice."