Letters: Spanier ‘judicial torture’ undeserved; Cherry-picked polls don’t tell full story

Spanier ‘judicial torture’ undeserved

I’m a proud Ph.D. graduate from Penn State, and retired college professor. That pride is based on the reputation of State as one of the leading institutions of higher education in the world. The university has a history of great leadership and Dr. Graham Spanier’s tenure is no exception. His presidency not only served our university and commonwealth well but provided a template for others to follow. He’s a man born in the shadow of the Holocaust and then experienced an abusive childhood. Yet, he persevered, and found a path to the top of his profession. Those familiar with the facts know the judicial torture he has endured is not deserved. There is no justification for incarcerating this decent man. Those who admire and wish to support him should be furious at the Pennsylvania Attorney General who has pursued Dr. Spanier and engaged in political grandstanding.

Cherry-picked polls don’t tell full story

Those submitting letters to the editor should be mindful when cherry-picking data to support their political biases.

Terry Kordes, in a May 27 CDT letter, tells us we should investigate last fall’s election because a November 2020 Rasmussen Poll found 36%-47% of Republicans believed the “election was problematic.” That was a full six months ago.

If Mr. Kordes wants to cite and trust public polling, he should also tell us that a May 27, 2021 Rasmussen Poll shows Joe Biden has a 53% approval rating. Meanwhile, an AP poll, released on May 10, shows Biden with a 63% approval rating. That’s a full 16 percentage points higher than Donald Trump’s highest approval rating during his entire four years in office, which peaked at 47%.

Polls also show that millions of Americans — one in 10 — believe the 1969 moon landing was a hoax! Among those ages 18 to 34, a whopping 18% don’t believe the landing ever happened. As a retired educator, that’s a worrisome poll that may truly be worthy of our attention.

Visionary leader recognized

Maureen L. Mulvihill was honored at the Life Sciences Pennsylvania annual awards ceremony, May 26, 2021. The Frank Baldino Bioscience CEO of the Year Award recognizes a CEO who has demonstrated visionary leadership and active participation to advance the science industry. Frank Baldino, Jr., founder, and CEO of Cephalon, Inc., was a pillar of the life sciences community in the Greater Philadelphia region and of the biotechnology industry.

Like Frank Baldino, Maureen L. Mulvihill is widely recognized as a visionary leader of Actuated Medical. The company works to solve clinical needs using electronically controlled motion. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, her team quickly reacted and within seven days stood up a reusable face shield manufacturing line. Maureen set aside her entire commercial business to repurpose her manufacturing facility and make these face shields that addressed the PPE shortage. The product line grew over the next four months due to calls from businesses, schools, and parents to include reusable face shields for children, hard hats, and sports helmets. In 2020, AMI grew in people and doubled its footprint to accommodate manufacturing scale-up.

“It takes a village and COVID-19 brought out the incredible strength of the Life Sciences community. Life Sciences involves vaccines, diagnostics, ventilators, PPE, and much more. Our team jumped into the fight on a Sunday afternoon with the energy and enthusiasm to make a difference. I am so proud that we were able to help healthcare workers as well as the community and very honored to receive this award,” Mulvihill said.