Penn State President Graham Spanier responded Monday to an attorney's claim the university made a calculated effort to buy a 100-year-old fraternity house, remove it and construct a new building that would possibly take on his name.
The property in question, 240 N. Burrowes Road, is the house of the former Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the subject of a lawsuit filed by Penn State in November.
"There are no plans to build another building there nor to name a new building after me on that site," Spanier wrote in an e-mail Monday. "Someone obviously made up a story either to agitate or amuse."
Spanier's statement came in response to accusations from the unsanctioned fraternity's attorney that the university has continually attempted to acquire the property, including a "ridiculous" purchase offer made over the summer.
Spanier confirmed an offer was made, but wrote it was "substantially higher than the appraised value" of the house.
However, according to a statement posted on Penn State Live soon after the lawsuit was filed, the university offered $900,000 for the property in July 2008 -- equal to the house's appraised value in May.
The fraternity's alumni corporation rejected the offer and on Nov. 25 Penn State filed a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Theta Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, asking the court to transfer ownership of the property to Penn State as per a stipulation in the property's 1905 deed.
The deed states the university reserves the right to purchase the property if it is not being used as a house for the Pennsylvania Theta Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Phi Delta Theta's charter was suspended by its general council in December 2007 after a violation of the fraternity's national dry house policy.
James Bryant, the fraternity's attorney, filed a motion last week requesting judgment on a counter-argument he filed earlier this month, which suggested Spanier acted with "unclean hands" and Penn State's option to purchase the property expired under the "rule against perpetuities."
The rule, "rare as rabies," would render Penn State's option invalid, Bryant said, because it was not exercised within "a lifetime plus 21 years" from 1905.
But Penn State disagrees, university spokeswoman Lisa Powers said.
"We'll see what happens in court," Powers said.
Powers referred further comment on the "rule of perpetuities" to the university's legal council.
Wendell Courtney, Penn State's attorney, was unavailable for comment Monday.
Because the university does not yet own the property, Powers would not speculate on any potential uses for the land.
Powers could not address the possibility of a compromise allowing the fraternity to keep the house, but said the two parties had several conversations within the last year and a resolution was not reached.
