After planned administrative business that had been on the agenda for months, the Penn State Board of Trustees got down to addressing a more recent addition: the creation of a special committee to investigate the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse case.
The committee will delve into how Penn State employees responded to reports that former defensive coordinator Sandusky sexually abused a young boy in a Penn State football locker room.
The committee, with the help of outside independent counsel, will determine what happened, who’s responsible and what changes to Penn State policy can be made surrounding the Sandusky case, Chairman of the board Steve Garban said.
Garban then announced the chair of the special committee — CEO of Merck Kenneth Frazier — and the vice chair — Ronald Tomalis, Pennsylvania’s secretary of education.
The board first announced they would create a committee Monday, after former Athletic Director Tim Curley and retired Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Gary Schultz stepped down from their positions. Curley has entered administrative leave and Schultz has returned to retirement.
After the meeting, Frazier said who will sit on the committee and how many spots there are hasn’t been determined yet. But Frazier said trustees will make up most of the committee as well as faculty and students. He said membership will be determined in the upcoming days.
Everything the committee investigates will be complimentary to the Attorney General’s ongoing investigation, Frazier said.
Frazier said the board will look to change policy and procedure to protect children in the future.
During his address, interim President Rodney Erickson, who has been employed with Penn State for 34 years, said he has full confidence in the committee to investigate “how responsibilities to these children failed.”
Garban said the committee will not have restrictions on resources during its investigation. He said information will be made public once the investigation is over.
Check back at collegian.psu.edu for updates.
