The alumni elected trustees sent a letter to me dated December 8, 2014 notifying me

that they had called a special meeting of the Board of Trustees for Monday, December
15, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at the Penn Stater to continue consideration of the resolution
presented by Trustee Lubrano at the November 14, 2014 meeting. (A copy of the letter
is attached.) Yesterday, I asked the alumni elected trustees to withdraw their call for a
meeting, but they declined to do so. As set forth in the Bylaws, the Secretary of the
Board is required to give notice of the meeting and therefore, tomorrow you will receive
a notice from the Board office with respect to the meeting.
I continue to be concerned by the single-minded focus and the steady stream of
resolutions that have required inordinate amounts of trustee time spent on one issue,
and deflected attention from a wide range of vital university issues. This is a significant
problem. It is incumbent upon this Board to devote more time in 2015 dealing with the
critical issues that affect our University and, most importantly, our students. Our
fiduciary responsibility as trustees demands this.
Each year, over 90,000 families entrust their children to Penn State. We must devote
serious time and attention to the issues of access and affordability, and work together to
ensure our students don't enter the workforce heavily in debt. As President Barron has
noted, our University is also an important economic development force in Pennsylvania.
This Board must explore ways in which we can maximize the University's role, and in
doing so, create better job opportunities for our graduating students. Other strategic
imperatives demand our intention, including the potential merger with PinnacleHealth
System, which will dramatically change how we educate our medical students and
provide care. I urge each member of the Board to consider how we might better work
together in 2015 to enable our University to better serve our students and other
important constituencies.
This requires we pause to reflect on the constant resolutions being put forward and
meetings being called.
You will recall that after discussion the Board voted in November to postpone
consideration of Trustee Lubranos proposed resolution until the Boards executive
session in January. Notwithstanding the fact that the Board determined to postpone
consideration of the resolution until January, and even though time has been reserved
at our January executive session for this discussion, the alumni elected trustees are
now seeking to accelerate the discussion to a time of their choosing.
Given that
the Board has already clearly and formally expressed its determination to consider the
resolution proposed by Trustee Lubrano in January, I am not intending to attend or
participate in any special meeting to consider the matter. Members of the Board are
likewise free to decide whether or not to attend any such meeting. I note that under the

Bylaws, no action may be taken at any regular or special meeting unless a quorum of
the members of the Board are present.
I recognize that there is a trial set for early January and the proposed resolution could
be moot by the time of the January meeting. Nevertheless, this was known at the time
the Board voted to postpone consideration, and a clear majority voted for the
postponement. In these circumstances, I think it is counter to the will of the majority to
go forward with a discussion and action prior to the time expressly set by vote of the
Board of Trustees in November.
In the coming year, I hope all Board members are prepared to work together on the
many critical issues our University faces.