Penn State Alumni Question President

Updated: Saturday, 14 Jan 2012, 9:27 AM CST
Published : Saturday, 14 Jan 2012, 9:27 AM CST

(The Wall Street Journal) - Penn State graduates questioned the university's president, Rodney Erickson, at a New York hotel Friday night, the third city in three days where he defended the school's handling of a child-sex-abuse case involving former football coach Jerry Sandusky.

More than 300 alumni crowded into the ballroom of the Marriott Downtown in Manhattan for the 90-minute meeting. Erickson, as he has before, listened patiently as people in the audience expressed concerns over the school's handling of the crisis and anger over the firing of football coach Joe Paterno.

Paterno was fired shortly after charges were brought against Sandusky, his longtime assistant. Paterno has not been accused of wrongdoing.

One person, who identified himself as a 2004 graduate, said, "A lot of us feel like when the board of trustees fired Joe Paterno, they fired us." Another, in tears, asked how Erickson could explain "the lack of due process" for the coach.

Still, opinion was divided in the crowd over Paterno. "I need to let the world know that all Penn State alumni don't feel bad that Joe Paterno was let go," a man, identifying himself as a 1991 graduate, said.

When asked what the university would do going forward, Erickson urged patience. "We're certainly going to work hard to tell the full story of Penn State in the days and weeks and months ahead," he said. "We will not lose sight of what happened and what our responsibility is, but we will move forward," he said.

Erickson responded to an emailed question during the meeting about how the crisis has affected recruiting on campus by employers. "We do know that recruiters who are coming to Penn State have not decreased their interest at all," he said.

Read more: The Wall Street Journal