On the Jerry Sandusky Scandal
Dr. Ben Novak reads a personal letter to Joe and Sue Paterno, written by Paul and Maralyn Mazza, who wanted the contents of their letter to be known to the community. Paul and Maralyn Mazza, both in their 80s, founded the South Hills School of Business and Technology, and are among the oldest members of the State College community and are probably known by more local residents than any other couple in the Nittany Valley, excepting the Paternos themselves.
Joe Paterno, in his autobiography “Paterno: By the Book,” cites Virgil and his reading of the Aeneas at Brooklyn Prep as the key to understanding what made him tick as a college football coach, and what guided his philosophy. In this segment, Tom Shakely reads excerpts from the book with Ben Novak and Alex Smith in order to honor Coach Paterno and investigate the power of Virgil and the enduring idea of excellence.
On the Mount Nittany Conservancy
The Founding of the Mount Nittany Conservancy – In October 2011 I spoke with Tom Shakely in an extended historical discussion on Mount Nittany and my role in founding the Conservancy and my perspective on it celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Penn State Campus Lectures
The History of Student Government – In July 2008, I spoke to the students of the Association of Big Ten Schools (ABTS) in an extensive lecture on student government. Using Penn State as a model, I sought to show how the very idea of “student government” and “student leadership” have radically changed over the past fifty years, indeed, coming to mean nearly the opposite today of what they meant to students pre-1960s.
The Golden Era of Student Leadership – In October 2008, I delivered a follow-up speech on student leadership to the students of Penn State’s “University Park Undergraduate Association” (UPUA), the student government, in an attempt to further define and impart the differences between two competing concepts of student leadership.
On University Life & Governance
On Trusteeship and Shared Governance – In August 2011 I appeared as a guest onInsideAcademia.tv to talk about the historical meaning of University trusteeship.
The Impotency of Student Government – In May 2011 I appeared as a guest on InsideAcademia.tv to talk about why student government today is thought of so often as incompetent.
The Golden Era of the Fraternity System – In February 2011 I appeared as a guest onInsideAcademia.tv, a weekly web program “on the past, present, and future of learning in America.” I spoke about what made fraternities — and greek life more broadly — so admirable historically from its founding to its more recent collapse.
