A year after Sandusky's arrest, Penn St. president says school is strengthened by improvements

Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Penn State has been strengthened by improvements to compliance and governance in the year since former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested, the university's president said Monday.


"Are we a better university? Yes, I think we are in terms of everything that we've accomplished and put into place," he said.

Erickson spoke to The Associated Press as part of a series of interviews with media outlets Monday, a year to the day that Sandusky's arrest ignited one of the worst scandals in higher education.

The NCAA, in levying strict sanctions over the Sandusky scandal, slammed Penn State for a "football-first culture" that was caused by a failure of institutional integrity. Those statements continue to draw the ire of some alumni and fans who were irritated that university leadership didn't challenge the assertions.

"That's what a lot of people, myself included, and certainly the Faculty Senate and many members of the Penn State community have reacted to, is the painting of Penn State with a very, very broad brush in a sense that there's one culture here that dominates everything."


He cited recent NCAA data showing high graduation rates for football players and other Penn State teams. The rates, Erickson said, are an example of Penn State's dedication to academic and athletic success and "evidence of a culture of athletics that is one that we can and should take great pride in, and we will continue to believe in that principle — that academics and athletics can work together in a very, very positive way."

The soft-spoken Erickson, the former chief academic officer, took over as president after Graham Spanier departed under pressure four days after Sandusky's arrest. Longtime coach Joe Paterno was fired the same night, sparking a large student protest downtown.

In July, the NCAA cited a school-sanctioned investigation led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh in saying there was an "unprecedented failure of institutional integrity leading to a culture in which a football program was held in higher esteem than the values of the institution, the values of the NCAA, the values of higher education, and most disturbingly the values of human decency." The school was hit with a four-year bowl ban, steep scholarship cuts and a $60 million fine.


The criminal investigation continues. Spanier is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday after the state attorney general's office said the former president conspired with two other officials to conceal allegations against Sandusky.

Many other challenges lie ahead.

Erickson said he was optimistic about the ongoing inquiries by the Department of Education and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an accrediting body. He had no update Monday on the progress of the school's potential civil settlements with Sandusky accusers.




Erickson said communication and oversight also has improved among Penn State leadership.

Nevertheless, Erickson said the upcoming year could be "our most challenging year in applications." He cited issues affecting high school students and their families in general, such as concerns about tuition, mounting student debt and getting a job after college.

"The message to prospective students is that Penn State was a great institution a year ago, and it's still a great academic institution," he said. "If you come to Penn State, you're going to continue to get a great education."

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