As you may be aware, on Tuesday, August 27th our legal team of Attorneys Terry L Mutchler, Erika Silverbreit, and Justin Boehret of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP filed an amended and updated lawsuit on my behalf against the Penn State Board of Trustees and Matt Schuyler in his capacity as Chair.
I strongly suggest you read the amended complaint here and the article explaining what was included in the amendment: Penn State Has Signed a Reported $1 Billion Contract for Beaver Stadium Ticketing.
The amended suit contained Item #163:
"Just days ago, the Board prohibited Plaintiff from attending any board meetings in person."
Penn State issued this prohibition after I filed my original lawsuit. While the Board of Trustees leadership has taken many retaliatory actions against me since I joined in July, 2022, this is the most egregious.
Our legal team has subsequently attempted to work with Penn State to withdraw this prohibition but unfortunately they refuse. Penn State’s Board leadership is clearly violating Pennsylvania statues and shredding trustees’ First Amendment rights. They have been disenfranchising all Penn State alumni since they prohibited public comments during open meetings, and recently by taking away alumni’s right to choose their representative trustees (see: Penn State Board of Trustees to Alumni: Drop Dead).
Clearly, the only route to compel responsible governance is through the courts, and we are doing that.
The scope of this lawsuit is expanding quickly as Penn State continues to double-down on their illegal actions. Many of you have contacted me to increase the amount of the GoFundMe fundraiser to $20,000 so I am asking Dave Lapioli to do that now.
The initial request for $10,000 is being spent wisely and the suit is moving forward quickly. If you have already donated, thank you. If you have the means to do so and want to see Penn State back in the hands of trustees who understand legal university governance, your donation will go to a very good cause. If you don’t have the means to donate but want to see us succeed, please help us spread the word.
Above all, WE ARE making our voices heard.
As a member of the Penn State Board of Trustees, I will from time to time be made aware of certain confidential information. Any public opinions or statements made now or in the past are from me, individually, and not by or on behalf of the Board of Trustees. I will also engage with Trustees and administrators in private, off-the-record conversations, with the expectation of privacy on both parties. I take these expectations seriously, as they are required in order to catalyze important discussions. As a fiduciary, it is also important that I engage in conversations with all stakeholders of the University. Stakeholders like you. Discussions will involve publicly available information and issues before the Board, as well as my personal thoughts, concerns, and ideas. I also will continue to solicit your thoughts, concerns, and ideas, and plan to engage in meaningful conversations with you on those topics. I hope that you will continue to share your concerns and ideas with me on my contact page.
