Spotlight PA Interviews Terry Mutchler on Transparency Concerns at Penn State’s Board of Trustees

Terry Mutchler, Chair of Obermayer’s Transparency & Public Data Practice, was featured in Spotlight PA on December 5, 2024, discussing Penn State University’s board of trustees and its decision-making process. A Spotlight PA analysis found that nearly 85% of measures brought before the 36-member board since 2019 passed without a single dissenting vote.

“You don’t want a homogeneous, ‘yes board,’” said Mutchler, who represents trustee Barry Fenchak. “You want a situation where people have enough information to make common sense, reasonable, and visionary decisions. What I think is happening here, and I think the statistics would bear this out, is groupthink.”

Fenchak has been a consistent dissenter, voting against 15 proposals in 2023, including 10 alone. Without him and fellow trustee Anthony Lubrano, dissenting votes would drop significantly, from 51 to 17.

Mutchler, Fenchak’s lawyer, told Spotlight PA the data should spur some soul-searching among the trustees. Her client’s case, as well as other instances of questionable board transparency, she said, suggest board leaders might be driving the agenda and that some trustees are not provided with full information before their votes.

The university has not offered comments on either Fenchak’s or Lubrano’s cases because the litigation is pending.

Read the full article here.