Penn State President Rodney Erickson was subpoenaed last week to testify before the Pennsylvania Grand Jury on matters relating to the Jerry Sandusky investigation, Penn State Spokeswoman Lisa Powers wrote in an email.
Erickson’s attorney is discussing various aspects of the subpoena with the Office of the Attorney General, including the actual date of testimony, Powers wrote.
“President Erickson intends to fully cooperate and answer all questions truthfully,” Powers wrote.
Powers wrote that the university will not comment further due to the ongoing investigation.
Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General, said because of the ongoing investigation, he could not confirm or deny that Erickson was subpoenaed.
Penn State agreed to reimburse the legal expenses of employees who received subpoenas as part of the investigation, Penn State Spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said in March.
The University will reimburse employees if they were acting within the scope of their employment and in the interest of the university. The University’s D&O insurance carrier will foot the bill, Mountz said in March.
Penn State former assistant football coach Sandusky is charged with 52 counts of child sexual abuse involving boys he met through The Second Mile, the charity he founded. He has maintained his innocence through his attorneys.
Erickson was named the university’s president after former Penn State President Graham Spanier was removed from his position in November by the Penn State Board of Trustees.
The board recently released a statement, justifying its reasoning for removing Spanier from office. The board cited Spanier’s failure to notify the board of his knowledge of an incident involving Sandusky and a young boy in the shower of the Lasch Football Building in 2002.
Executive vice president and provost since 1999, Erickson ranked immediately below the president and was tasked as next in line for the position in case of Spanier's absence.
Erickson’s contract will run through June 30, 2014 and stipulates he will be paid an annual base salary of $515,000. His salary could increase based on his performance evaluations each year, according to Erickson’s employment agreement.
As executive vice president and provost, Erickson earned a salary of $420,012, according to the 2010 Penn State Right-to-Know Law Report. Spanier earned a salary of $620,004, according to the report.
Before he assumed the presidency, Erickson said he planned to retire in June 2013 from his former position.
Erickson said he changed his retirement plans in order to grant the university enough time to complete a “competitive national search” for a new president.
