Arnelle speaks to forum

About 28 years ago, H. Jesse Arnelle was elected by alumni to the University's Board of Trustees.

The board he joined held closed meetings twice a year to approve decisions that had already been made by an executive committee that met monthly, Arnelle explained to a roomful of administrators, faculty, staff and students yesterday afternoon.

"In those days, board meetings were not open to the public. There was no such thing as the Sunshine Laws," he said. "It was more like a smoke-filled room."

Arnelle, now president of the Board of Trustees, spoke about how the board has changed since 1969 and where he saw the board heading in the future.

"I feel the best years are still ahead as we approach the (21st) century," he said at yesterday's Penn State Forum.

Penn State Forums are monthly luncheons sponsored by the Faculty Staff Club and the Penn State Bookstore, which feature speakers who address University concerns and issues, said Sandy Edwards, director of development and cooperative extension.

In his first few years, Arnelle and a group of trustees helped initiate changes, such as increasing the number of board meetings to six per year and opened all committee meetings to all trustees. He also spoke of the changed relationship between the board and the University president, which was practically nonexistent when he joined, and the selection process for a president.

"What we looked for is the best person that we could identify and recruit," said Arnelle of the search for University President Graham Spanier. "We all agreed that we wanted god -- and on a very good day."

The board allows the president to operate the University without constant supervision and does not try to manage, he said. Instead, the trustees try to look at the overall picture, he added.

Trustee Emeritus Helen Wise, who joined the board in the same year as Arnelle, said the people on the board and the allowance of the administration to manage the University are some of the qualities that allow the board to work so well.

"I don't see a physical change in the structure," Wise said. "The vitality of the board is that (the composition of people) does change."

The changing community at Penn State was also addressed by Arnelle, who encouraged the audience to foster individuality and diversity at the University. After his speech, Arnelle fielded questions from the audience on topics ranging from affirmative action, term limits on board members, same-sex partner benefits and the controversy surrounding former Penn State football player Curtis Enis's acceptance of a suit from a sports agent.

"I think the University president has handled it very well," said Arnelle, who played both football and basketball as an undergraduate student. "It was probably one of the most blatant cases of tampering (by the agent) I've ever seen."