There are 86 nominees for the Penn State Board of Trustees for the 2012 elections. The ballot positions for the PSAT-Choice candidates are:
Joanne DiRinaldo, EdD Position 28
Sam Y Zamrik Position 27
Scott Munroe Position 31
Scott Fozard Position 50
Myke Atwater Triebold Position 60
PSAT-Choice has learned that Mike Ceres has had a change of plans and will not be running for the board of trustees during this election cycle.
By JEFF FRANTZ, The Patriot-News The Patriot-NewsThe Penn State Alumni Trust-Choice, a self-formed group comprising six candidates vying for the three alumni trustee seats up for election this spring, also are advocating a reorganization of the board’s structure.
They want to see the board transform itself to be transparent and responsive to all. The candidates comprising this group are accountant Scott Fozard, Penn State professor emeritus Sam Zamrik, pharmaceutical and biotech industry executive Joanne DiRinaldo, real estate consultant Myke Triebold, and landscape architect Scott Munroe.
Additionally, a group called PSU Alumni for Reorganization of the Board of Trustees is researching other land-grant universities‘ structure to identify reforms that it would like to see be implemented at Penn State. Members of Penn State’s Faculty Senate also have expressed an interest in exploring university governance reforms as well.
PSAT-Choice Overview – The Penn State Alumni Trust – Choice (PSAT or PSAT-Choice) began with the goal of righting the course of our University’s governing structure, starting with the Board of Trustees, to remove the veil of secrecy and transform the Board and our Administration into a responsive and transparent organization that truly has the mission and advancement of our University as its core focus.
Weekly Topic – What are your views on the Penn State’s budget, tuition, and / or facilities expansions issues.
Scott Fozard, 1989 (facebook.com/Fozard.4.BOT) – We have an apparent disconnect between the public perception of PSU’s budget / tuition woes and the ongoing level of facilities expansion. I say apparent because the lack of BOT transparency makes it challenging to properly assess the issues. The BOT has not taken responsibility for the effective utilization of University resources and has not provided leadership to enhance resource utilization and effectively communicate its strategy relative to the contradictions from facilities expansion and budget / tuition concerns.
Sam Zamrik Ph.D., 1961, 1965 (http://kttekweb.com/samyzamrik/) – With expected budget cuts, it is imperative that a thorough review of Penn State expenditures be scrutinized and this idea to keep building new facilities has to stop. The cost of the Millennium building of $228 million is outrageous, even if the claim is coming for contributions. Plus look at the Hockey arena of $89 million from a donor, but there is still a question about the upkeep cost that Penn State has to endure.
Joanne C DiRinaldo, EdD, 1978 (http://www.joannedirinaldo.com/). - In order to address Governor Corbett’s proposed budget cut plan by 20% to the state system of higher education, Penn State will either have to reduce expenses, increase tuition or take more out of the endowment. Endowments have historically been used to fund research and not for the taking care of business, “teaching students.” Let’s take a closer look at Penn State’s approximately $2B endowment fund.
Myke Triebold, 1972,82 (http://pennstatetrustee.com/) - As the land grant university for the Commonwealth, Penn State is deserving of the Lion’s share of state money for higher education–and the BOT has failed its responsibility to maintain this relationship. The large scale building (and resulting rise in administrative and maintenance costs) that has occurred over the last 20 years has caused the tuition to become the highest in the nation and created a “private university” impression for lawmakers in Harrisburg.
Scott Munroe, 1998 (http://www.facebook.com/scott.k.munroe)- As Penn State now goes through the latest rounds of potential budget cuts we are forced to look at the way in which our Board of Trustees have miss-managed our University’s budget. We have one of the lowest percentages of State Funding of any Land Grant University, one of the highest gaps in Educational Quality verse available Faculty resources (of a top 50 ranked University), the highest in-state tuition rates for a public institution, and we are still building at an alarming rate thus increasing our serviceable debt and our administrative and operating costs all, while our available funding is decreasing. This is not a model for long term success and we need to find a way to effectively make our tuition more competitive while closing the gap in Educational Quality and faculty resources.
Vote for Indpendence and Transparency
The basic answer is that PSAT-Choice began with the goal of correcting the course of our University’s governing structure, starting with the Board of Trustees. It is our plan to remove the veil of secrecy and transform the Board and our Administration into a responsive and transparent organization that truly has the mission and advancement of our University as its core focus.
We are a group of five independent candidates that all have the common goal of reorganizing the structure of the Board of Trustees. We all feel that the issues we face at Penn State go beyond that of merely removing the current members and replacing them. We have a system that needs to be transformed to again serve the best interests of the mission of our University and the State of Pennsylvania. Another focus of our group is to educate the alumni about choices to fill the three open slots, and encourage each voter to look at the biographies and platforms of each candidate and select ones that they are truly comfortable. Who do you feel will best represent the interests of the University going forward? We do not believe that a voter should be bound to a restricted slate of candidates when voting for something as important and personal as how the future of Penn State is directed.
We are independent candidates with common goals within our platforms and visions for the future of Penn State. We have agreed to work together for the purposes of sharing resources, while still running separate campaigns.
Penn State is at a crossroads, not because our research and education are not strong. In fact, it is stronger then ever. What has brought us to this crossroads are the top levels of our administration. We have a leadership void that has created a Board of Trustees and Administration that turned a blind eye to the Sandusky scandal until it was too late. The board members still distances themselves from their responsibilitis and actions. This has led to the deterioration of the health, welfare, reputation and moral integrity of our University.
It is time for a change, from the inside out. We need trustees that can not only transform the Board from an organization that hides behind non-disclosure laws to one that is transparent and responsive to all. The new Board we seek needs to be capable of maintaining its responsibilities and reasonableness as guardians of our University’s campuses and the educational mission of our Land Grant institution. These five candidates represent a strong future for our beloved Penn State University. The Penn State Alumni Trust for Choice (PSAT-Choice) strongly endorses them and encourages you to further examine their backgrounds and platforms. PSAT-Choice began with the goal of righting the course of our University’s governing structure, starting with the Board of Trustees, to remove the veil of secrecy and transform the Board and our Administration into a responsive and transparent organization that truly has the mission and advancement of our University as its core focus.
To this end the Penn State Alumni Trust for Choice (PSAT-Choice) is pleased to announce the following five strong, determined, independent, and dedicated candidates to elect this April:
Marlene “Myke” Atwater Triebold, BS, A.T.,C.
Joanne DiRinaldo, EdD
Sam Y Zamrik
Scott Munroe
Scott Fozard
