(CNN) -- Penn State University President Rodney Erickson tried to distance the school from the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the campus as he spoke to angry alumni Thursday night. "It grieves me very much when I hear people say 'the Penn State scandal.' This is not Penn State. This is the (Jerry) Sandusky scandal," Erickson said. The town hall meeting in a hotel in suburban Philadelphia comes the same day Penn State revealed it is paying long-time coach Joe Paterno as if he retired at the end of the season, even though the university relieved him of his coaching duties on November 9.
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'This is not Penn State. This is the Sandusky scandal," university president says
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The renowned football coach was removed from his job in November
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Paterno's dismissal came amid a sex abuse scandal involving a former assistant
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Scandal led to the university president's firing and criminal charges against two officials
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