The recent indictment of former Penn State University President Graham Spanier helps assure that the broader governance themes raised by the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal will remain in the forefrontnot only with the media, but also in corporate boardrooms.
This is primarily because of the continuing weight attributed by multiple constituencies to the investigative report of Judge Louis Freeh with respect to the underlying scandal. Much of the Freeh Report’s focus is on fiduciary conductboth past and recommended. The report’s core governance themes transcend the unique, horrible nature of the underlying facts. It is, in large part, a significant commentary on the oversight responsibilities of a governing board. So when the Freeh Report is cited in media reports as contributing to the charges filed against Spanieras it was similarly cited as a basis for the July 2012 NCAA sanctions against the university’s athletic programthe exceptionally long “shelf life” of this investigative report becomes more clear.
