Penn State Alumni To Meet University President In King Of Prussia
By Tim Jimenez
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (CBS) - It has been over two months since the Jerry Sandusky abuse scandal first broke and rocked Penn State University. This week, the school's president is meeting with Philadelphia-area alumni in King of Prussia in a town hall setting to discuss the scandal and its aftermath.
The Penn State Alumni Association is sponsoring this series of meetings. The first is being held on Wednesday in Pittsburgh and the final event is set for Manhattan on Friday, January 13th.
In between, on Thursday, over 600 people have registered to meet at the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge. President Rodney Erickson has been on damage control since he replaced Graham B. Spanier as school president. He is attempting to fix the school's public image and will try to ease concerns over cover-up allegations and the firing of long-time head coach Joe Paterno, among other issues.
"Alumni have justifiable concerns and questions about the crisis that Penn State is facing," said Roger L. Williams, executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association in a statement. "We thought alumni would welcome the opportunity to have their questions answered face-to-face by our new president. And President Rodney Erickson is eager to talk with alumni."
Registration for the free event is now closed. An alumni association spokesperson said slots filled up quickly and registration to get on waiting lists were also closed due to high interest.
Among those planning on attending are 10 members of Delaware County's Penn State Alumni Association.
"Listening to various alumni that I've spoken with; they're still disappointed and disagree with the way the Joe Paterno part of this was handled," said Chapter President John Gallagher.
The 1971 Penn State graduate hopes Erickson addresses that along with an update on the school's internal investigation.
"We want to make sure that it doesn't fall into a bureaucratic system that kind of lets us all down and doesn't really accomplish its goals," Gallagher said.
Gallagher also said he is glad this difficult situation raised awareness for abuse and hopes his alma mater does not lose sight of that.
"We don't want to forget everything that's happened. And keep at the forefront, the abuse of the children. Nobody can forget that's the primary concern for everybody," he said.
