JACKPOT!
Administration releases statement regarding court decision on Freeh materials
November 19, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's administration has issued a statement following a decision by the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County with regard to a lawsuit filed by seven alumni-elected trustees. The suit sought certain materials generated as a result of the Freeh investigation. Leadership has consistently pledged that the University would work to protect individual anonymity of the people interviewed. The judge's decision grants the trustees' request to review the Freeh documents, subject to a confidentiality order and the threat of sanctions for noncompliance. The administration is pleased with the outcome.
DOWNLOAD: Click here to read the judge's opinion.
Statement:
"We are pleased with the court’s recognition of the university’s interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the materials, particularly the names and identities of those who were interviewed for the Freeh Report. The seven alumni elected trustees’ continuing demand to know 'who said what?' is contrary to the university's efforts to create a climate where people feel safe in reporting possible wrongdoing. The university offered repeatedly to provide essentially all of the approximately 3.5 million documents collected by the Freeh firm with no redactions whatsoever and all of the Freeh firm’s work product and interview memoranda with redactions of personally identifiable information, all under the conditions of a confidentiality agreement. This legal action was an unnecessary and wasteful expense."
"While we would have hoped that a confidentiality agreement would have been sufficient to protect the university’s interests, the court’s order provides additional protection from any breach of the court’s confidentiality requirements."
Administration releases statement regarding court decision on Freeh materials
November 19, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's administration has issued a statement following a decision by the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County with regard to a lawsuit filed by seven alumni-elected trustees. The suit sought certain materials generated as a result of the Freeh investigation. Leadership has consistently pledged that the University would work to protect individual anonymity of the people interviewed. The judge's decision grants the trustees' request to review the Freeh documents, subject to a confidentiality order and the threat of sanctions for noncompliance. The administration is pleased with the outcome.
DOWNLOAD: Click here to read the judge's opinion.
Statement:
"We are pleased with the court’s recognition of the university’s interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the materials, particularly the names and identities of those who were interviewed for the Freeh Report. The seven alumni elected trustees’ continuing demand to know 'who said what?' is contrary to the university's efforts to create a climate where people feel safe in reporting possible wrongdoing. The university offered repeatedly to provide essentially all of the approximately 3.5 million documents collected by the Freeh firm with no redactions whatsoever and all of the Freeh firm’s work product and interview memoranda with redactions of personally identifiable information, all under the conditions of a confidentiality agreement. This legal action was an unnecessary and wasteful expense."
"While we would have hoped that a confidentiality agreement would have been sufficient to protect the university’s interests, the court’s order provides additional protection from any breach of the court’s confidentiality requirements."
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