Penn State Board Of Trustees Elects New Chair
STATE COLLEGE (KDKA) --The Penn State University Board of Trustees met Friday in State College, Pa. and now new leadership is in place.
Penn State Board Chair Steve Garban announced he would not run for another term as chairman and Vice Chair John Surma, CEO of U.S. Steel, also announced he would not run for another term.
Karen Peetz, an executive with BNY Mellon, was elected as the new board chair.
The changes come as a vocal group of alumni wanted the board to step down in wake of the firing of football coach Joe Paterno.
Outside the meeting, some demonstrators held signs which read "honk if you want new board leadership."
Earlier, the interim athletic director revealed that the university spent $4.5 million in severance pay for seven assistant coaches who no longer are employed by the university. Joe Paterno remains on the payroll as tenured faculty.
The president of the university though says in spite of recent headlines, applications for undergraduate admissions are up three percent.
Governor Tom Corbett abstained from vote on certain improvement programs and a proposed increase in room and board saying he needs more budgetary information on many of the proposals.
Following the meeting, Harris is set to host a forum. It's called "Real Talk," and it will be at the Nittany Lion Inn on the Penn State campus.
Harris's first "Real Talk" forum was held last week in Philadelphia.
Stay with KDKA for full reports from Harold Hayes on this developing story.
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