Bagwell issues statement on Penn State board vacancy

Middleton, Wis. – Ryan Bagwell, a former candidate for Penn State trustee, issued the following statement today in response to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s story about a potential candidate for the university’s empty board seat.

“Today I was disappointed to read that a group of Penn State activists wants another Wall Street executive to fill a vacancy on the university’s board of trustees.

Barbara Doran is a former trustee candidate endorsed by a group who offered no plans for change. As a New York hedge-fund expert, she has no experience fighting for access to public records. She’s never battled public bodies to stop them from holding secret meetings. And she remains silent when it comes to university ethics reform.

Her support mainly comes from Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship, an alumni group defined by the radical views of its most vocal members. Not once has it proposed a plan for ethics reform, greater access to university records or demanded that trustees stop regularly meeting in secret. Instead of embracing the Freeh report’s recommendations, it continues to dismiss the investigation’s findings altogether. And although it appears to be the voice of Penn Staters in newspaper articles, the majority of alumni do not share its views.

Board of Trustees President Karen Peetz has said she wants to enhance transparency at Penn State. If she’s serious about her calls for openness, she’ll appoint someone experienced at fighting for that goal, not someone else who comes from the secretive and irresponsible culture that defines modern Wall Street.”