Trustees notebook: Penn State addresses cybersecurity, renovations, room and board

Penn State was the target of cyberattacks on the colleges of Engineering and the Liberal Arts, both of which were revealed in 2015. But what has happened since?

Provost Nick Jones gave an update on that to the board of trustees committee on audit and risk Thursday.

Changes to information technology have already begun even before the university has its new chief information officer, a search Jones said is ongoing, with about 15 candidates on deck.

“Are we able to compete in that?” asked trustee Ted Brown, noting that luring top talent in that area can be pricy.

“We will,” Jones said.

In the meantime, the interim leaders have transformed the department, making IT more of a partnership, according to Jones, and “less of a hammer.”

But not all the changes are in attitude. Some are more simple.

The target of much of the cyberintrusion was personally identifiable information, things like names, dates and Social Security numbers. The problem isn’t just protecting them. It can be having them in the first place.

“The vast majority of PII is legacy,” Jones said.

That means that somewhere, in the cyber-equivalent of a dusty basement storage closet, the university is protecting information it doesn’t need anymore.

“We’re looking to purge it, to get rid of it once and for all and put a Good Housekeeping seal on it,” Jones said.

Doing that will free up resources to protect and maintain the data that is still in use.

Residence halls and renovations

In November, the trustees hit a roadblock on some building projects, coming to a stalemate on some Philadelphia-area Commonwealth Campus plans for a month after a request from representatives for Gov. Tom Wolf.

At Thursday’s meeting in Hershey, the committee on finance, business and capital planning approved plans for projects at University Park.

The renovations at Stuart Hall, plus two new residence halls, are the first phase of a long-term initiative slated to begin in March.

The $65.1 million project includes new double rooms, lounge and study space, improved parking and pedestrian walkways, plus utility connections to Findlay Dining Commons and the northern half of East Halls. Stuart improvements will see installation of air conditioning and private bathrooms, plus social and service areas.

The projects have an estimated completion date of July 2017

There were other residence halls on the agenda, too.

A final plan approval was given for a new residence building in North Halls. The $33.5 million project will provide 310 new beds with private bathrooms and air conditioning.

Room and board costs

At the March 2015 trustees meeting, state Secretary of Policy and Planning John Hanger started his tenure on the board with a showdown over room and board, a battle he lost.

A year later, the board is back in Hershey, and once again, the finance committee has proposed an increase to food and lodging costs for next year. It goes hand-in-hand with a proposed multiyear capital assessment to support long-range building projects.

If the full board approves the proposals Friday, the standard double-room rate with a typical meal plan will be $5,230 a semester. That’s a 3.05 percent increase over the current year. Last year’s increase was 3.89 percent.

According to Gail Hurley, associate vice president for auxiliary and business services, the increases go to food costs, payroll and operational expenses.

Housing and Food Services asked for the capital assessment, which would help fund the new construction and facility renewal projects across campuses.

“The H&FS Capital Plan responds to three driving forces: The need for renovations, the need to expand capacity, and the need to support the university’s strategic initiative in the Philadelphia area,” Hurley said. “Faced with issues of an aging inventory of buildings, increased student expectations, and a need for a strategic investment at Abington and Brandywine campuses, the capital plan and the assessment address the most critical facilities needs and priorities, while not overburdening students and their families with spiking rate increases.”

The proposed assessment, to be included in room and board rates, would start at an average $56 per semester in 2016-17 to $78 per semester in 2022-23.

An old voice gone

Hanger was joined by other voices of opposition last year, but he was the loudest detractor of the increase.

However, at Friday’s meeting, Hanger will not be present. He left the Wolf administration last week. While his duties are being taken over by Sally Galbally, university President Eric Barron said Penn State has not been told who will take on the nonvoting representative role he served on the board. Three other secretaries hold voting seats by virtue of their offices, heading up education, agriculture and conservation of natural resources. Hanger’s seat was not tied to his office.

“Gov. Wolf will appoint a new representative, but he has not done so yet,” said Wolf’s spokesman, Jeff Sheridan.

Sports building plans move forward

The board will also vote Friday on the $29.3 million renovations at the Intramural Building at University Park.

The project includes an indoor turf field, a multipurpose room, squash courts and recreational spaces, offices, meeting room, a wellness suite and athletic training.

The latest approvals would complete the third phase of the renovations. The first started in 2013, with the second picking up in 2014.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Trustees notebook: Penn State addresses cybersecurity, renovations, room and board."