There is more controversy at Penn State as one of the university’s most outspoken trustees is drawing criticism from trustee leadership on how he presented a proposal on honoring Joe Paterno.
In a letter to Penn State trustee Anthony Lubrano, the university trustee chair and vice chair say he created a “public spectacle” at the February 16th board of trustees meeting.
The trustee leadership also says interviews that Lubrano did on Tv and a local radio station were inconsistent with guidance that trustee media appearances be coordinated with the university’s strategic communications team.
“Now of course they want me to coordinate with strategic communications in the future, which of course is absurd. I keep reminding them that as individual trustees, we have the responsibility to discharge our duties as we see fit. It’s not group think,”
At the February meeting, Lubrano did introduce a resolution to honor the Paterno family and then withdrew it.
In the letter, the resolution was termed “a distraction from business and academic matters on the board’s agenda.”
Lubrano says he talked directly with the trustee chair and vice chair shortly before he received their letter.
“The representation they made was that there was a number of trustees upset with the resolution coming forward. They explained to me that somehow, I shared confidential information, which is patently untrue.”
In the letter the trustee leadership says they look forward to working with Lubrano and appreciate his “proactive engagement.”
Lubrano says he doesn’t think leadership is trying to sanction him and he does plan to continue speaking out in the future, especially when it comes to honoring the Paternos.
“We talk about openness and transparency, but in my opinion, we’ve been anything but open and transparent, particularly when it comes to the Paterno matter.”
We reached out to Penn State for a comment on the letter and haven’t yet received a response.
