PSU consulted furiously over damage control

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania State University's board of trustees and president focused on repairing the school's tarnished image and braced for financial backlash in the immediate aftermath of the child sex-abuse scandal that erupted two months ago, going so far as to recommend reminding any outraged donors that they would not get their money back, according to internal memos obtained by the Associated Press.

Four memos sent from Nov. 14 to 18 and released to the AP this week describe the school's scrambling response less than two weeks after former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested on child-molestation charges. Two Penn State administrators also were charged with lying to a grand jury and failing to properly report suspected child abuse.

In the first memo, issued nine days after the charges were filed, new president Rodney Erickson told the 47-member board that the public-relations teams of the university and the athletic department had met to "align our messages" and that he had received positive feedback after two network-TV interviews.

"This is another indication that we are taking control of the narrative of our story," Erickson wrote.

The scandal led to the ouster of Graham B. Spanier, Erickson's predecessor, and the firing of venerable football coach Joe Paterno.

A Nov. 18 note from Erickson also included an attachment with "talking points" for donors, including pointing out that the school had not changed its policy that gifts are not returned.

The records were obtained through a public records request filed Nov. 22 with the state Department of Education.

University spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said Erickson's memos continued after Nov. 18, but she declined to provide them to the AP.

The memos also reflect close monitoring of the widespread publicity surrounding the scandal. Erickson noted on Nov. 14 that "blogs, tweets, news stories, Facebook postings, YouTube videos, etc." had declined 50 percent from the previous day and 90 percent over the prior four days.

"Review of Top 20 search terms on Google today shows no Penn State terms on that list for the first time in nine days," Erickson wrote.

On Nov. 15, the two top-ranking members of the board wrote to other board members that debate among the full board, including emeritus members, had become too cumbersome in the eyes of many trustees.

The board has 31 voting members, including Erickson, Gov. Corbett, and members of Corbett's cabinet, as well as 16 emeritus members.

"We need to streamline the communications among and with members of the board," chairman Steve Garban and vice chairman John Surma wrote days after reports surfaced of eroding support for Paterno and Spanier. "First and foremost, there have been serious breaches in confidentiality of our discussions and we will take the necessary steps to address these."

The third update from Erickson said the school's vice president for university relations, Bill Mahon, had asked Penn State deans and chancellors to emphasize "remorse, humility, and resolve."

"It is critical that we show that we are moving forward under the leadership of president Erickson," Mahon told the administrators. "Please be sure that there is broad understanding that he is the president, not the interim president."

Erickson plans to meet with alumni to discuss the abuse scandal next week in town hall-style meetings in Pittsburgh, King of Prussia, and New York City.

Messages left for Garban, Surma, and several other trustees were not returned.