Auditor general wants more tranparency from Penn State

Pennsylvania’s auditor general is prescribing specific changes in governance at Penn State.

One of them centers on a change in the level of transparency the state requires of the school.

Auditor General Jack Wagner says all universities that receive hefty funding from the commonwealth, such as Penn State, should be subject to information requests under the state’s open records law.

He says the school is exempt, at least in part, because of the push made by former university president Graham Spanier.

“Penn State lobbied — the previous president Spanier lobbied — extensively four or five years ago to have Penn State University excluded from the ‘right to know’ legislation,” Wagner said. “We think that was wrong and we believe it should change.

Spanier was implicated in the university’s internal investigation for covering up a budding scandal related to Jerry Sandusky’s abuse of several young boys.

Wagner is not alone in the open-the-doors sentiment.

Gov. Tom Corbett and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi have both recently expressed support for bringing Penn State under the state’s open records law.