ON THE first day of a public viewing for former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, the university's Faculty Senate is scheduled today to consider a vote of no confidence in the Board of Trustees that fired him.
Dr. Anthony Ambrose, from the School of Medicine, had proposed at a meeting last month that Penn State should ask for the resignation of the entire 32-member board and form a board "that is lean, clean, and probably under these circumstances pretty mean, with no more than nine or 10 members."
If affirmed, the vote would not trigger any automatic action but would represent the faculty taking a position on the board and its handling of the child sexual abuse allegations that have rocked the campus.
The Faculty Senate meeting is expected to begin with comments about Paterno from Senate chairman Dan Hagen, followed by a moment of silence, the Senate's executive director, Susan Youtz, said yesterday.
At the same meeting, the board will hold a town hall-style gathering with the faculty. That is among the initiatives announced Friday by new board chairwoman Karen Peetz and vice chairman Keith Masser.
The board has received sharp criticism in the aftermath of the charges against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky and for its decision to fire Paterno - by phone - Nov. 9.
Michael Day, a 1973 Penn State graduate from Hagerstown, Md., whose father taught there and whose four children all have Penn State degrees, said the trustees were wrong to fire Paterno and he believes they will ultimately be replaced. He said he hopes they don't attend the memorial service scheduled for Thursday on campus.
"I think the Penn State community is separate from the Penn State Board of Trustees," he said. "The Board of Trustees has separated itself from the Penn State community, and the Penn State community loves Joe Paterno and always will. So it's appropriate for the Penn State community to honor Joe Paterno in this service."
Bitterness over Paterno's removal has turned up in many forms, from online postings to a note placed next to Paterno's statue at the football stadium blaming the trustees for his death. A newspaper headline that read "FIRED" was crossed out and made to read, "Killed by Trustees." Lanny Davis, lawyer for the board, said threats have been made against the trustees.
