Despite recent speculation about a possible conflict of interest, Penn State trustee Barry Robinson said his work with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) played no role in a recent agreement to bring the Napster online music service to Penn State students in the spring.

Robinson became a member of the Board of Trustees in 1989, and currently serves as senior counsel for corporate affairs for the RIAA. As counsel, Robinson said
he deals with "day-to-day" legal matters for the association, including trademark violations.

Robinson said he was notified of the agreement, which provides Napster's premium service to Penn State students for no cost, 36 hours before it was officially announced Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.

He added there is no connection between his work as a trustee and legal counsel for the RIAA.

"I or any other trustee ... want to make sure the [university's] broadband capacity is used legally," he said.

Some students said they question Robinson's membership in the groups.

"I found the connection interesting because he is on the board and all of a sudden this agreement comes through," said Elisha Marshall (senior-international politics and public relations) said. "The agreement benefits the RIAA as well as Penn State."

RIAA spokeswoman Amanda Collins said the association is not involved in individual licensing agreements and had no say in the university's agreement with Napster.

"The RIAA was informed of the deal after it was made," said Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon. "Barry Robinson is one of 32 board members. His knowledge of the issues surrounding this national problem have been a good resource for us, but it is not related to his having 1/32 of the power of the board."

Napster representatives also said the RIAA had no input in the agreement.

"The RIAA represents the label and the music industry, and they are quite happy with the deal we have made," said Seth Oster, a Napster spokesman.

Robinson and Penn State President Graham Spanier serve on the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, a group investigating a legal solution to music piracy. RIAA President Cary Sherman and Motion Picture Association of American President Jack Valenti also serve on the committee.

Undergraduate Student Government Academic Assembly President D. Josh Troxell said it was not surprising that Penn State was the first university to reach such an agreement.

"We had the right people in place to make the connection," he said.

Mike O'Connor (junior-computer science and biology) said he believes the board can have a strong influence over administrators' decisions.

O'Connor said he thinks Robinson could -- and should -- be a valuable liaison between the university and recording industry.

"We have to reach out to them and have an open line of communication, but at the same time student interests must be most important [thing]," he said. "Certain actions have demonstrated that student interests may not come first."

He also said he thinks Spanier might be getting "too close to the issue" by serving on the joint committee.

O'Connor said he thinks it's good to have recording industry representatives on the board, to reach out to communities either affected by or affecting college students.

"There is a possibility that it could be a conflict of interest," he said. "Can the administration work against this?"