Jordan Clark: Graham Spanier’s so-called ‘rush to judgment’
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“A scheduled on-campus appearance by former Penn State President Graham Spanier was canceled Wednesday after the university canceled classes and some school activities because of wintry weather. Spanier had planned to promote his book, ‘In the Lion’s Den: The Penn State Scandal and a Rush to Judgment,’ in an appearance at a bookstore in the HUB-Robeson Center.” — From “Graham Spanier’s on-campus book event at Penn State canceled because of wintry weather” (Jan. 25, TribLIVE)
Hardly a “rush to judgment.” In 2012, six years into Spanier’s presidency, football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of sexually abusing boys. Five years later, Spanier was convicted of a single misdemeanor for endangering the welfare of children and served 58 days in the county jail.
Spanier’s “serious health conditions” must have improved enough to conduct book signings in view of the fact that his attorney stated after his sentencing: “It is disturbing that during this global health crisis, the Pennsylvania attorney general has insisted that a 72-year-old who has serious health conditions should enter a correctional facility for any term of confinement for a conviction on a single, non-violent misdemeanor.”
After his dismissal as president, Spanier’s financial health also improved. Penn State’s “without cause” termination payment of $2.9 million in 2011 made him the highest paid university president in the country. Had Penn State’s board of trustees terminated Spanier “with cause,” he would have been given a fraction of the $2.9 million.
Even though terminated as president, Spanier was kept on the payroll as a tenured professor without him stepping a foot in a classroom or lecture hall. But he is publishing. According to the PSU Budget Office, the median salary for a professor is $184,392. Penn State has not released any information on Spanier’s salary.
It is estimated that Penn State had paid Spanier $3.7 million through the fall of 2017. Assuming he was on the payroll through 2022 as a tenured professor, his total compensation since he was terminated would be an estimated $4.6 million.
In addition, in his 2016 lawsuit against Penn State, his lawyers noted the 2011 separation agreement directed the school to pay all attorneys’ fees and expenses related to his termination plus the grand jury presentment.
How much Penn State paid for Spanier’s legal fees is not easy to determine. As of 2013 the school said legal defense for “indemnified persons,” including Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz, had already cost $6 million. Curley and Schultz pleaded guilty to child endangerment and served short jail terms.
As of 2018, the Sandusky scandal cost to Penn State was $237 million. Including a $12.3 million verdict to former assistant coach Mike McQueary for wrongful termination. McQueary’s testimony was instrumental in convicting Sandusky and Penn State’s paying over $100 million to more than 30 of the abused children.
In his 16 years as president, Spanier in his prologue claims that he had only one conversation with Sandusky: “Caught up squarely in the media storm surrounding the announcement was Joe Paterno, legendary head football coach. It wouldn’t be long before I would be swept into the nightmare even though I had only one conversation with Sandusky in my life.”
We know that Spanier is good at keeping secrets. He was and may still be a consultant in national security. After his ouster, he said he was working on a “special project for the U.S. government relating (to) national security.” Not even his lawyer knows what national security agency he worked for. “I have no idea,” says his lawyer, Peter Vaira. “We know the work is in security and he’s prohibited from disclosing which agency or agencies he’s working for.” (The Washington Post, July 27, 2012)
Spanier is also a sociologist and family therapist. With all his education and experience, Spanier especially as president of Penn State should have had more than one conversation with Sandusky.
If he had, his “nightmare,” and more important, the lifelong nightmares of the many abused children, may have been avoided.
Jordan Clark served as chief of staff to three Pennsylvania members of the U.S. Congress, two of whom represented Penn State.