Penn State is apparently continuing to make steady progress in moving past the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Last week, former Senator George Mitchell, the third-party independent athletics integrity monitor, issued a third quarterly report (which can be found at by clicking here.) stating that University officials have given his team nothing but “full cooperation” as the institution works to implement various reforms after sanctions were imposed on Penn State stemming from the Sandusky scandal. Like Mitchell’s two prior reports, his third quarterly report praises Penn State’s compliance with all athletic integrity issues and the progress the University has made in attempting to change its culture and campus procedure.
Mitchell’s most recent report outlines dozens of actions taken on behalf of the University since March. One notable reform was the downsizing of the Board of Trustees from 32 to 30 by taking away the president’s and governor’s voting powers. The University also eliminated the 10-day notice period for board meetings in favor of a three day notice period. In addition, the report also identifies two positions which were created as a result of the recommendations made in the Freeh report (which gave a scathing critique of how Penn State had addressed Sandusky’s crimes, but which also made reformative recommendations). Specifically, the hiring of Julie Del Tiorno as the University’s new athletic integrity officer and Regis Becker as the new ethics compliance officer were highlighted in the most recent report. Becker has already taken steps to ensure that all pertinent University employees can consistently and effectively comply with the University’s new code which was recently adopted.
To date, Penn State has completed 76 of the recommendations made by the Freeh Report and 27 others are considered in place and ongoing. In April, various events were held at Penn State as part of Sexual Assault Awareness month and Child Abuse Prevention month. The University has hosted events including workshops, presentations, and other courses addressing sexual violence. Thousands of staff at the University have completed training which emphasizes, among other items, the prompt reporting of any violations of the standards set forth in the new campus code. Along those lines, the University is also conducting research to determine the willingness of students, faculty and staff to report wrongdoing and working to comprehensively change the campus culture including finalizing a new “values statement.” Mitchell’s team has also worked with a company named Guidepost Solutions, LLC to review physical security issues for Penn State’s athletics and recreational facilities and also taken steps to ensure that there were appropriate policies to improve the safety of non-student minors on campus.
Mitchell took on the role of “monitor” after the NCAA slammed Penn State last summer with unprecedented penalties for the Sandusky abuse scandal. Mitchell’s next report is due at the end of August 2013 which will be combined with his required annual report summarizing Penn State’s progress.