News for 11/16/12

Trustees         11 16 12

 Penn State’s board of trustees does plan to weigh the recommendations of state auditor general Jack Wagner to change the school’s governance structure, including his advice to remove the university president as a voting trustee.

 Chairwoman Karen Peetz said yesterday that the board will also consider the recommendations from former FBI director Louis Freeh and the upcoming suggestions from the Penn State Faculty Senate.

 In committee sessions yesterday, the board also reviewed a schedule that hopes to have the next university president identified by November 2013, and have the person ready to assume the position by no later than the following July. The search and screening committee that will help select the next president will include faculty and staff members, the president of the alumni association and students as well as a group of trustee members to oversee the process. Current president Rodney Erickson has stated that he intends to retire after the 2013-14 school year

 The trustees will have their regularly scheduled bi-monthly meeting at the Penn Stater Conference Center a Hotel this afternoon at 1:30.

Mcqueary

 A court hearing over staying former Penn State assistant coach Mike Mcqueary’s whistleblower lawsuit will be held in courtroom 2 of the Centre County Courthouse today. Mcqueary is suing Penn State for 4 million dollars and accuses the University of Defamation and making him a scapegoat.

 Penn State wants to delay the case until the criminal cases against former university administrators are complete.

 Attorneys will give oral arguments at 11am.

Corbett/Obama

 The first post-election Pennsylvania poll was good news for President Barack Obama and Governor Tom Corbett as both men improved their standing among state voters.

 A Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday showed Obama’s approval rating among Pennsylvania residents at 52%, while Corbett’s climbed to 40% his highest rating since March.

 Poll administrators credit their handling of Superstorm “Sandy” as a major reason for the increase.Sixty one percent of state voters gave Corbett high marks for his handling of the storm, while 74% gave President Obama high marks for his response to the storm.   

Lawsuit

 Six Pennsylvania judges filed a lawsuit against the state yesterday that challenges the requirement that all members of the bench must retire at the end of the calendar year in which they turn 70.

The Lawsuit names Governor Corbett, Pennsylvania Treasurer Robert McCord, and Secretary of Pennsylvania Carol Aichele (pronounced like H L) as defendants. The suit was filed by attorneys representing Judges John Driscoll, John W. Herron, Benjamin Lerner, Mazer Moss, Joseph D Okeefe and Leonard Zito.   

 Funding Performance

 A panel which includes top Pennsylvania college officials is recommending performance targets that higher education institutions would have to meet in order to obtain extra state funding.

 The suggestion from the Governor’s Advisory Commission on postsecondary Education recommends maintaining $1.67 billion in base funding and creating a performance fund of $256 million for schools that meet goals including costs and tailoring programs to the needs of the workforce.

 The AP reports that the recommendation has university president Rodney Erickson’s support, as well as presidents at Temple, the University of Pennsylvania and the chancellor of Pennsylvania’s 14 state-run universities.