I am running for the Board because I believe that the way the Penn State Board of Trustees is run has a great deal to do with the tragedy that has recently befallen our great University.
Dr. Ben Novak (PSU Class of ’65), who once served on Penn State’s Board of Trustees for twelve years, has decided to come out of retirement to serve Penn State again. Novak was elected as an alumni trustee to serve four three-year terms between 1988 and 2000. Now he wants to return to the Board to help the other new trustees take on the system.
“There is a lot that needs changing at Penn State,” says Novak, “especially on the Board of Trustees. The present leadership of the Board is as disconnected to what is really going on as the Board of Enron was a decade ago.”
“The greatest challenge facing the board now is to restore Penn State’s honor. When the Board callously fired Joe Paterno in a late-night telephone call — after Joe’s sixty-one years of outstanding service — they dragged down the honor of Penn State.”
“I know that the vast majority of Penn Staters are sick over this scandal and how it has been allowed to develop. The powers-that-be thought that they could divert attention from their responsibility for this mess by throwing Joe Paterno overboard. But now Penn Staters are realizing the enormity of the injustice the Board has done. Joe and Sue Paterno have been have been the greatest exemplars of the integrity and honor since the Founders themselves. It is our duty to restore Joe and Sue to the highest positions of honor and integrity that Penn State can bestow.”
Beginning Sunday, Jan. 8, Dr. Novak is publishing a series of articles in the Centre Daily Times and on his website. “Reflections of a Former Trustee” is a set of articles showcasing systemic weaknesses in University governance, the responsibilities of the present Board, and what needs to be corrected in order to restore Penn State’s honor. The articles are attached.
In the next week, the Board of Trustees will be sending out nomination forms to Penn State alumni, and Ben is asking that Penn Staters who feel the same to write his name on the form and send it back.
“We will restore and rebuild Penn State’s honor. We will show the honor to Joe and Sue Paterno that they have so mightily earned. We will clean up the mess.”
Restore Penn State’s Honor. Ben Novak for Penn State Trustee.
